Frozen Moments
by CrazyAce'n'PokerFace
Summary: 101 drabbles/one-shots that give a glimpse into Toushirou and Karin's life together. A love story told in snapshots. Ch. 28: Silence, part ix. She's all of twenty-five, and she really isn;t ready for this.
1. First

**Author Note: Hi! This is CrazyAce'n'PokerFace with a drabble and/or one-shot series. We've seen this sort of collection around, and personally I thought I'd try my hand at it, see if I could actually write something SHORT. These drabbles will be mostly unconnected, spanning a number of years and situations, set in both Bleachverse and AU. There might be mentions of other couples, but for the most part it will concentrate on the awesomeness that is the Hitsugaya and Karin love story. :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong solely to Tite Kubo. However, if there was an alternate universe where I do own Bleach, I will promptly give my left arm to switch with my other self. :)**

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**Chapter One: First**

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The first time he ever kissed her was on a sunny winter day, the light glinting off the freshly fallen snow, the white expanse stretching before him.

Until a blur of black and scarlet entered his peripheral vision. A teenage girl wearing a glaring red scarf careened wildly past him, pushing him aside and jumping into the nearest pile of snow with a loud whoop.

"Come on, Toushirou!" shouted Kurosaki Karin. "Keep dragging that sled! We've got to get it to the top of the hill!"

Grinning madly, she picked herself up and raced back towards him, brushing the powdered snow off her legs and stretching out a hand to grasp the rope connected to an old wooden sled, fingers brushing against his as they both pulled it uphill, defying the forces of gravity. Karin continued talking to him, her topics ranging from snowboarding to Hollow-killing, from soccer practice to Hyourinmaru. Actually, she spent quite a bit of time asking after his dragon, inquiring about his health and how he was doing, causing his zanpakutou spirit to rumble contentedly in answer. Hitsugaya just replied with one-word sentences, occasionally smirking at a particular comment or observation of hers, easily falling back into their familiar camaraderie.

At the top of the hill, she placed herself firmly at the front of the sled, patting the space behind her and telling him to hurry up and get on. Sighing, he still obliged her, folding his legs next to hers and reaching around her to take hold of the rope, fully planning on steering the sled himself. Pouting, she turned around and stuck her tongue out at him, but nevertheless leaned back against him, the top of her head nestling comfortably under his chin. He blushed a little once he realized the intimacy of their position, and coughed once to get rid of the sudden discomfort in his throat.

"What's the matter?" she asked, pushing at his wrists. "Aren't we gonna go sledding already?"

"Yeah. Sorry, got a little lost in my thoughts for a minute," he replied, tightening his hands on the rope.

"Oh, really?" she asked teasingly. "Well, you better start paying attention now," she finished as they began the swift journey downhill. Throwing her hands up and laughing in exhilaration, she inadvertently jostled him and caused him to lose control of the sled, sending them spinning wildly about in the last half of the ride, the sled landing unceremoniously in a nearby snow-bank.

As he picked himself off the ground, grumbling to himself about crazy girls and stupid sleds, he spared a glance at Karin.

And saw her sprawled out beside the overturned sled, a contented smile on her face as she lazily moved her arms though the snow, making an angel on the ground. His heart squeezed a little, and he walked over to lie down beside her. Still smiling, she turned her head to face him and spoke, "You know, Toushirou, I really love snow. It's the best thing ever…" and here she glanced away from his blue-green gaze, "…partly because it reminds me of you."

And he knew she was telling him she loved him.

Grinning, he stood up and offered a hand to help her up, and sheepishly she took it, risking a look at his face to judge his reaction. In answer he simply pulled her up, then gently took her other hand, until they were standing toe to toe, staring at each other.

"Toushirou, I—" she began before he suddenly cut her off with a kiss.

It was short and sweet, a little cold and a little awkward—just like him, she thought hazily—and then he was pulling away, bending over to pick up the rope and start dragging the sled uphill once more.

"You coming?" he said, a satisfied smirk on his face as he turned to look back at her.

Scowling at his knowing expression, Karin opened her mouth to yell at him before shutting it again as an idea occurred to her.

"Toushirou?" she asked sweetly.

"Yes?" he said turning around again, his brows lifted slightly. "What's the pro—"

Only he never finished the sentence, because a fistful of snow hit him squarely in the face. And really, after that there was only one option left.

Fifteen minutes later, when Yuzu stopped by to check on them, she found them furiously engaged in a snowball fight, both of them laughing without a care in the world, just enjoying an ordinary winter's day.

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**Endnote **

**CrazyAce: So that's one drabble down—a hundred to go! *pumping fist in air and jumping up and down like crazy* **

**PokerFace: Ummm…yeah. Please ignore the madwoman, and review if you can. :) **


	2. Gibberish

**Author's Note: Hi, everybody! We'd like to thank the following people for alerting, reviewing, or adding this story to their favorites list: anna1594, Turtle-chan in Blue, meggie-moo s, 7amani, and Moon of Jupiter. Thank you to everyone who's read this drabble series as well. :D**

**This drabble is set in Soul Society, a decade or so into the future. The prompt was courtesy of PokerFace**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong solely to Tite Kubo. However, if there was an alternate universe where I do own Bleach, I will promptly give my left arm to switch with my other self. :)**

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**Chapter Two: Gibberish**

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Karin woke up slowly, her eyes adjusting to the dim light of the room. She stretched out a hand to feel the person beside her, but her searching fingers met only the cold sheets of the bed. Hearing voices come from down the hallway, she smiled and burrowed deeper into the blankets. She'd wait for them to come to her, she decided.

A few moments later, Toushirou stepped into the room, gently carrying their eight-month-old son, Haru. Seeing that Karin was awake, he walked over to his side of the bed and sat down, lifting a hand to brush the hair from Karin's face, exposing her laughing smile.

"Good morning, gorgeous," he stated huskily.

"Good morning, Toushirou," she whispered back. Sitting up, she grinned a little as Haru immediately stretched his arms out to be held. She took him from Toushirou's grasp and cuddled him close, burying her nose in his snow-white hair. She laughed as Toushirou gave their son a mock-scowl, wide gray eyes meeting vibrant teal ones as her two boys stared each other down.

"Abandoning me so quickly, eh?" said Toushirou. "I knew you were only using me as transportation. Well, that won't do at all. I'm going to have to teach you a lesson."

Haru started giggling as Toushirou tickled his feet, Karin aiding him by holding Haru out and tickling his sides.

"Ega, ega!" he squealed loudly.

Karin laughed and shared a smile with Toushirou. "I think that's gibberish for, 'Stop, Daddy!'"

Toushirou grinned back and replied, "Really? I thought it sounded like, 'More, more!'"

And he went right on torturing their son, the three Hitsugayas' laughter filling the house.

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**Endote: We hoped you liked this one, and please review! :) **


	3. Clams and Tacos

**Author's Note: Hi, everybody! We'd like to thank the following people for alerting, reviewing, or adding this story to their favorites list: anna1594, Turtle-chan in Blue, meggie-moo s, 7amani, and Moon of Jupiter. Thank you to everyone who's read this drabble series as well. :D**

**This prompt is courtesy of Turtle-chan in Blue. The setting is most definitely AU. XD**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong solely to Tite Kubo. However, if there was an alternate universe where I do own Bleach, I will promptly give my left arm to switch with my other self. :)**

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**Chapter Three: Clams and Tacos**

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i.

Kurosaki Karin was definitely going to murder that stupid, annoying, _rude_ little twerp. She was looking at him now, that freaky white hair of his standing up on end, his mouth tilted up in that arrogant smirk. Oh, how she _hated_ him!

"Just who does he think he is?" she muttered under her breath, impatiently tapping her foot against the floor and drumming her fingers against the wooden table they were seated at. "He's nothing but a waiter, for God's sake! What the hell gives him the right to look down his nose at everyone else?"

"Karin-chan," sighed her sister, "Don't tell me you're still mad at Hitsugaya-san. It's been over a week since the coffee incident, and he said he was sorry. He's been nothing but solicitous and helpful to you ever since, despite your gross overreaction."

"Overreaction? Overreaction?! You call yelling at him after he spilled scorching-hot coffee all over my brand-new laptop an _overreaction_? It was perfectly justified!" argued Karin heatedly.

"It was an accident, Karin! Good heavens, you were the one who tripped him in the first place," replied Yuzu, who rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Stupid jerk deserved it, smirking at me like that," grumbled Karin.

"He_ smiled_ at you, _politely_ I might add," said Yuzu. "God only knows why, especially since you've been out to get him ever since we stepped foot in this restaurant. Why do you hate him so much, anyway?"

"I don't know," Karin said, her brows furrowing as she considered the question. "I just do, that's all."

"You don't know," repeated her twin in a deadpan voice. "That's just so you," said Yuzu, sighing yet again at her sister's mysterious behavior. "The better question is, why do we keep coming to this restaurant if you can't stand its cutest waiter? You know that's why half the girls are here, right? To gawk at Hitsugaya-san, though I must admit that I can't blame them."

"Because this place has the best tacos ever concocted," muttered Karin. "Can you believe it? The only restaurant at this entire freakin' beach resort that has Mexican food, and that midget is the waiter. But there is no way that I am giving up my tacos, especially not tacos like these. We are on a vacation, Yuzu, and that means _enjoying _ourselves, even if annoying waiters do their best to stop us."

"Whatever you say, Karin," replied her sister, perusing the menu and ignoring her sister's growls as Hitsugaya finally started coming towards them, pen and tablet in hand.

"Good afternoon, ladies. What can I get for you today?" he asked, smiling warmly at Yuzu before turning to Karin, his smile seeming to freeze on his face and go brittle at the edges. "Ah, but Karin-san has already chosen her meal for today. Tacos yet again, correct?" he said, one white brow quirking upwards as he flashed her a grin that seemed anything but cold, a grin in total opposition to his previous expression. Then those amazing blue-green eyes were already looking down at the tablet, the long-fingered hand already starting to jot down her order.

"No!" protested Karin, irked that he could predict her so easily. Well, really it was only to be expected, since she _always_ ordered tacos, but still. Yuzu looked at her in surprise, and Hitsugaya stared impassively into her eyes and crossed his arms, his posture a clear challenge.

"Oh, really?" he said. "Then what _will _you have today…Karin?"

Frantically, Karin glanced at the menu before her, saying the first entrée she spotted. "Clams," she said decisively. "I want clams today."

"Very well," he answered, giving her a slight, mocking bow. "Clams it is." He coolly walked away towards the kitchen, never sparing her a backwards glance.

As soon as he left, Yuzu was pulling Karin over, whispering in her ear, "But you're _allergic_ to clams, Karin!"

"Trust me, Yuzu, I'm aware of that fact," Karin hissed back through gritted teeth.

"Then why did you order them?" asked Yuzu, nearly losing her patience at her twin's obstinacy.

_How can I answer_ that? thought Karin glumly. _What should I say, that it was at the top of the menu and I couldn't think of anything else? Because I can _never_ think when Hitsugaya looks at me, ever since the first time I met him. _

She couldn't say that. Then she'd have to explain how she never wanted to trip him in the first place, that she'd been trying to stand up and catch his arm, ask for his number maybe, except he'd gotten caught on her foot and spilled the coffee all over her laptop. As she'd leapt forward to help him, an apology on the tip of her tongue, he'd shoved her hands away. Then he'd glanced up at her, the most disgusted look on his face, and she knew she'd never have a chance with him, not when he thought she was the rudest customer he'd ever laid eyes on. So she'd started yelling at him because she was just so _angry_ at herself for screwing it up, and she took it out on him instead.

Miserable, she toyed with the edge of the tablecloth, thoughts returning to her present predicament. Now he was going to laugh at her for being so stupid as to order something she couldn't even eat. Why, oh, _why_ couldn't she have just kept her mouth shut? she wondered.

ii.

Why, oh, _why_ couldn't he have just kept his mouth shut? he wondered. Now she was going to hate him for being a snotty, overconfident jerk. Not that she didn't hate him already. But after this incident, he could just kiss any chance of asking her out on a date goodbye.

Hitsugaya was a student at a local university, and this waitering job was a summer gig that paid decently well. He always got the best tips, too, and the manager liked him because his face brought in more customers. He scowled. Not that his good looks had helped him much lately. What the hell was wrong with him? All the girls who came here day after day to try and catch his eye, and he managed to piss off the only one he _wanted_ to notice him. Karin. She'd occupied his thoughts ever since she'd walked through the doors of the restaurant, head held high like a queen, her eyes meeting his for one brief, electric moment. He'd been convinced it was his lucky day when she and her sister sat down at a table in his section, and he'd made it a point to turn on the charm and smile specially for her. She'd grinned back at him, and he'd been so distracted by the way her face completely lit up that he hadn't even noticed her foot until it was too late. He'd completely trashed her laptop, and all he could think was, _You stupid idiot! How could you be so clumsy?! She'll hate you now! _Then he'd looked up, self-disgust written all over his face, and she'd started yelling at him like Armageddon was coming tomorrow, so she'd better blow out his eardrums while she still had a chance, before the devil dragged him off to hell.

Yeah. It was a beautiful first meeting.

After that, he'd tried his best the entire week to make it up to her, being extremely polite, doing anything she asked, making sure her orders got there the quickest. And of course, making damn sure the cook gave her the best tacos of his entire career. Nothing changed; she still hated his guts. Today, he'd tried showing her how he paid attention to her, memorizing her favorite dish, but he'd come off as a conceited jerk instead.

Sighing, he rattled off the twins' order, taking note of the cook's exclamation of surprise at Karin's change of heart.

"What's wrong with my tacos?" Chad asked solemnly. "Does she not like them anymore? I thought you said she thought they were the best in the world."

"I know, Sado-kun," Hitsugaya replied. "It's me she has a problem with, not your tacos."

Nodding, the gentle giant patted him gently on the arm before moving to the stove to cook up the customers' orders. Mulling it over, Hitsugaya remembered the look on Karin's face every time he brought her a plate of freshly made tacos. He'd loved seeing that look. Thinking it over, he made a snap decision, and called the Mexican chef back, "Hey, Chad. Could you change that last order?"

iii.

Karin waited miserably for their orders to appear, ignoring Yuzu's probing looks in favor of wallowing in self-pity. Really, what else could she do? One week of vacation left, and nothing to show for it besides sunburn, a broken laptop, and an unhealthy addiction to tacos and white-haired waiters. Sighing, she stuck her elbow on the table and leaned her head against her hand, morosely looking out the window. Only to jump in surprise as Hitsugaya's voice addressed the back of her head.

"Lunch is served," he said simply, right before placing a plate of salad before Yuzu…and a tray of tacos before her. He gave another short, elegant bow, his eyes locking with hers, then walked away, leaving her to gape after him.

"I can't believe him!" Karin said incredulously. "He got me tacos!"

"Oh, Karin, don't tell me you're going to complain," said Yuzu in exasperation. "What does the man have to do to get you to see that he likes you?"

"He_ likes_ me? What are you talking about, Yuzu?" asked Karin, puzzled.

"I'm talking about the way he always looks at you when he thinks no one else is watching. I've watched him stare at you longingly this entire week. I felt so sorry for him, especially since you made it rather clear that he'd never have a chance with y—Karin, what are you doing?" Yuzu asked in a bewildered tone. Karin was scribbling something on a napkin, eyes glowing with happiness, a grin on her face. Folding the napkin up, she placed it underneath her plate, returning to her beloved tacos and smiling brightly at Yuzu. Rolling her eyes, Yuzu gave up on trying to decipher her twin's odd behavior, and concentrated on her salad instead, hoping that whatever she had planned for Hitsugaya-san wasn't _too_ terrible.

As they were leaving the restaurant, Karin pulled out a few yen to leave as a tip, and placed them directly over the napkin she had written on. On it was a name: Hitsugaya. Positioning her handiwork carefully, Karin then picked up her bags and started towards the entrance, leaving Yuzu to stare curiously at the napkin for a few seconds before shrugging and following after her sister, wondering why she was so cheerful all of a sudden.

iv.

As Hitsugaya came by to pick up their dirty plates, he noticed his tip placed on top of a folded napkin with his name written on it. Curious, he pocketed the money and unfolded the napkin, reading the message inside:

_Thanks for the tacos. Figured you'd take this as a sign of my gratitude._

And right below that was a phone number.

Grinning like a madman, he instantly pulled out his cell phone. "Karin?" he asked a few moments later.

"Yeah, pretty boy?" she answered, and he could tell from her voice that she was grinning as well.

Leaning against the table, he spoke the words that would change his life forever: "Would you go to dinner with me? I know this one place with the best tacos in the world…"

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**Endnote: Wow, this was a fun one to write, even if I drew a blank when I first saw the prompt. But this drabble is dedicated to Turtle-chan in Blue for her inspiration! Thank you for reading, and please review! :)**


	4. Red

**Author's Note: Hi, everybody! We'd like to thank the following people for alerting, reviewing, or adding this story to their favorites list: anna1594, Turtle-chan in Blue, meggie-moo s, Shizuku700, SilverDragonEyeCardSpiritWolf, KK Prophet, Tempest Rose, ichilover3, Thelanblossom, and lazyguy90. Thank you to everyone who's read this drabble series as well. :D**

**This prompt is courtesy of PokerFace. (If anyone would like to give me a prompt, just PM me. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong solely to Tite Kubo. However, if there was an alternate universe where I do own Bleach, I will promptly give my left arm to switch with my other self. :)**

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**Chapter Four: Red**

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Hitsugaya Toushirou saw his life—or, rather, his life _after_ death—flash before his eyes.

He should never have agreed to this. Never.

But what could he do? She was his friend, wasn't she? He trusted her, didn't he? And so when Kurosaki Karin had asked him to accompany her on the first ride in her brand-new car, grinning that insane, beautiful smile of hers, he'd automatically said yes.

And now he was sitting beside her in the front seat, hoping to whatever higher power was listening that the airbags in this thing worked properly, or that death of a gigai did _not _equal death of the soul inside it.

He'd have to ask Urahara about that when he survived this trip. _If _he survived this trip.

Meanwhile, he had some shouting to do.

"Karin! Karin! You just ran a red light! What the hell are you trying to do, get yourself _killed_?" he yelled at the top of his lungs, exchanging shocked looks with the motorcyclist they'd just passed.

"Oh, lighten up, Toush! It was yellow when we got there, and yellow means speed up before the light changes. So it turned red while we were still in the intersection. So what? It's perfectly legal," Karin replied, grinning as she pressed down harder on the gas.

"No, yellow means 'caution' and red means 'stop, you insane madwoman'. And in what country is going twenty miles over the speed limit legal?" he replied, giving up on closing his eyes and hoping this was all a bad dream. He sighed, resigned to his fate. "I should have just shunpo'd to the soccer field and carried you. It'd have been faster and safer, and a heck of a lot less stressful."

"But not half as much fun, you gotta admit that. Besides, I'm tired of getting carted around by you. It makes me feel like some damsel in distress. This way, _I'm_ in control," she said.

"Whatever, Karin. Just slow down, would you? Your brother's gonna have a heart attack if I let you crash this car," he retorted.

"I'm not gonna crash. Quit being so pessimistic. Nothing is going to happen to us," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, yeah? How much do you want to bet?" he asked.

Karin had just opened her mouth to reply when lights flashed behind them and a siren started wailing. A police car had pulled up behind them and was signaling them to pull over.

"Shiitake mushrooms!" exclaimed Karin, eying the car and quickly wondering if she could make a run for it. Deciding against that, she started slowing down and moved to park on the side of the street.

"Great," Toushirou muttered. "Just great. Can't say I didn't tell you so."

Turning to glare balefully at him, her eyes suddenly widened as an idea struck her on how to get out of this decidedly tricky situation. "Toushirou! Why don't you—"

"No, Kurosaki, I am _not_ using my powers on an innocent human. The man's only trying to do his job," Toushirou said resolutely.

Pouting, she replied, "Fine. But don't answer my questions before I've finished asking them; it's like you're reading my mind. And what's up with the 'Kurosaki' thing? I thought we agreed on you calling me by my first name only."

"Only when I'm friends with you. And I am _not_ friends with wanted criminals. In addition to being illegal, did you never even think that using my powers would require me to get out of this gigai first, leaving you to explain why you have a dead body in your car?" he asked.

Sitting back, Karin crossed her arms and sighed in defeat, before suddenly sitting up and yelling, "That's it! Toushirou, get out of that body!"

"_What?_ Have you completely lost your mind!" he yelled back.

"Shhh, keep it down," Karin said, looking worriedly over her shoulder at the now approaching policemen. Pulling on a glove similar to Rukia's, she quickly smacked him on the forehead, sending him flying out of his body, through the car door, and onto the asphalt.

Sitting up in his shinigami form, he stared incredulously through the window at Karin, asking, "Where the heck did you get _that_? And what on earth are you _doing_?"

"Urahara," she quickly muttered. "And I'm saving both our butts. I'll say you fainted and was driving you to the hospital, and they'll let us go with just a warning," she explained, before turning to talk to the oncoming officers, looking suitably frantic.

"Officer! Officer, please help!" she said, an expression of utter distress on her face.

"What's the trouble, miss?" the shorter officer asked, only to have his partner smack him on the head.

"Idiot! Can't you see she's faking it? All right, lady, we're going to need your identification and your license. You've been caught speeding by the Karakura Police Department, and nothing you say or do will get you out of receiving this ticket. Now please step out of the car," the second officer said in a bored voice.

"No, you don't understand! My friend suddenly passed out while we were driving, and I was trying to get us to the nearest hospital as soon as possible!" Karin said in a hysterical voice. On the other side of the car, Toushirou rolled his eyes at her acting, wondering how on earth she was going to get herself out of _this_ mess.

The shorter policeman spoke sympathetically to Karin and held her attention while the taller policeman ignored them both and walked to Toushirou's side of the car. He abruptly pulled open the door, much to his partner's shock and Karin's dismay, and said, "All right, sir, you can stop pretending now," only to step back in alarm as Toushirou's gigai fell to the floor.

"What the heck!" he exclaimed, putting his fingers to the gigai's throat, feeling for a pulse. Panicked, he shared frantic glances with his partner before stuttering, "I-I-I think he's dead!"

As Toushirou burst out laughing beside him (invisible, of course), Karin got out of the car and laid the gigai on the floor, putting her head to its chest while simultaneously glaring up at her so-called friend. _Do something!_ she mouthed while Toushirou only shook his head and kept on laughing. The policemen were now furiously apologizing, and one of them was pulling out a phone to call an ambulance. In a panic due to the unexpected turn her plan had taken, Karin cried out, "Wait! I think I can revive him."

Toushirou stopped laughing and watched quizzically as Karin started pushing on his chest and—kissed him! She was kissing him! What was she thinking!

Getting down on his knees beside her, he tried pushing away her hands to get her to stop, only to make contact with the gigai's chest instead. He was then unceremoniously sucked back into his body.

And found himself locked in a kiss with Karin.

"Mmrf!" he tried to yell, eyes opening wide. Karin abruptly pulled away, and both of them were coughing and wiping their mouths. Around them, the small crowd that had gathered to watch the spectacle suddenly started clapping, and the policemen were patting Karin on the back, praising her as a hero. Toushirou, meanwhile, just glared at her. His look clearly said, _You are _so_ dead once this is over._

_Yeah, right, _said her answering glare.

Fifteen minutes, they found themselves back on the road with a police escort, speeding ticket-free, making their way towards Karakura General Hospital. There was an awkward silence in the car as its two occupants pointedly avoided each other's gaze.

"So," Toushirou said, unable to bear it any longer, "what are we going to say to explain why I am miraculously fine?"

"I don't have to say anything. Ishida-san's father owns the hospital, and all I have to do is mention how I have pictures of Otou-san wearing bunny slippers and a frilly apron, and he'll take care of the rest," Karin replied. "They absolutely hate each other, kind of like Ichi-nii and Ishida-san, so he'll be happy to help me out."

"Oh," said Toushirou. Then…"Why did you kiss me?"

Karin groaned inwardly. She had been hoping that he wouldn't ask that question. Grudgingly, she replied, "I was doing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Humans do it to people whose lungs or hearts have stopped working, in the hope that it'll get them started again. I was just going to say that it worked, but that your pulse was barely there, and ask them to take us to the hospital. I wasn't expecting you to get back in the gigai."

"Oh," he said again. Turning to look out the window, he heard her mutter under her breath, "That wasn't how I was expecting to lose my first kiss."

"Same here," he muttered back. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her stiffen, her hands tightening on the wheel. Then, "It was your first time, too?"

Still looking away, he gave a short nod. She sighed in reply and said, "I'm sorry, then. For everything."

He made a noncommittal sound, then said, "It's all right. You don't have to apologize. It was actually kind of…nice."

Silence met his words, and he didn't break it until they got to the hospital. Getting out of the car, he pulled the door open for her. Still not meeting his gaze, she gave a nod in reply and started walking towards the entrance, only to be stopped by his hand on her arm. Turning towards him, she was suddenly struck speechless when he gently kissed her. He pulled back and stared into her eyes, a cheeky grin on his face.

"Thanks for the ride," he said as he walked away. "Even if you do run red lights."

Putting a hand to her lips, she merely rolled her eyes and followed after him, bumping him with her shoulder. "Don't think that I'll let you win the soccer game just because of that," she muttered in reply. And slipping her hand into his, she hoped he didn't notice how red her cheeks were turning.

She didn't have to worry. His face was turned away, hoping she didn't notice the same thing.

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**Endnote: And that's it. Hope you liked this one, and please review! :) **


	5. Bone

**Author's Note: Hi, everybody! We'd like to thank the following people for alerting, reviewing, or adding this story to their favorites list: anna1594, Turtle-chan in Blue, meggie-moo s, Shizuku700, SilverDragonEyeCardSpiritWolf, KK Prophet, Tempest Rose, ichilover3, Thelanblossom, lazyguy90, gabi1010, othchick11, and Evslayer. Thank you to everyone who's read this drabble series as well. :D**

**This prompt is courtesy of PokerFace. It is definitely AU. (If anyone would like to give me a prompt, just PM me. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong solely to Tite Kubo. However, if there was an alternate universe where I do own Bleach, I will promptly give my left arm to switch with my other self. :)**

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**Chapter Five: Bone**

* * *

"Do you see this? This is an x-ray of your femur. Do you see that crack right there? That means it's broken. _That_ means at least two days of bed rest and three months in a cast, if you stay off it and don't strain yourself. Anything less, and the bone won't heal properly…are you listening to me, Hitsugaya-san?" said Kurosaki Karin, doctor extraordinaire at Seireitei Hospital. The patient in question just glared at her before nodding tersely, then returned his gaze to the window. _What on earth does he find so fascinating?_ she wondered, but kept her question to herself.

"Good," she said out loud, looking over his charts once more. "You broke the bone in a fall, right? While skateboarding?"

"Snowboarding," her taciturn patient stated. Finally, a verbal reply.

"Sorry. Snowboarding, then," she repeated, scribbling it down on a form attached to a clipboard. Paperwork was _such _a pain. "And it says here that you are twenty-three years of age," she stated with a faint tone of surprise, raising her eyebrows at him as she surveyed his snow-white hair. His similarly-colored brows drew forward in a frown over blue-green eyes, and he thinned his mouth into a scowl.

"It's like this naturally, okay?" he grumbled.

"What is?" she asked, being deliberately obtuse. She couldn't help herself; she figured she'd do anything to get a reaction out of him. She was doing this for the benefit of the hospital, really, and was just ensuring that they hadn't taken in some emotionless alien or advanced cyborg. He was so stiff and aloof that it was almost laughable. Chuckling lightly at her inner thoughts, she turned once more to Hitsugaya-san, waiting for an answer to her question.

"My _hair_," he replied, clearly annoyed. "It's been like this since I was born."

"I see," she replied, passing it off as a genetic mutation. _I wonder if the abnormality that caused his hair color also caused his lack of height. He's practically a midget, and so pale, too. Perhaps he's some sort of albino-dwarf combination_, she thought to herself, smirking a little as she thought about sharing the joke with her colleagues later on. She wasn't being serious, but exaggerating their cases was always a fun way of livening up the place. She was startled out of her reverie when her patient scowled even more and started shouting.

"I am not an albino! And who said anything about being a super-midget!?" Hitsugaya yelled, suddenly and inexplicably angry. Karin leapt to the obvious conclusion.

"Wow, you read minds, too?" she said. This was certainly turning out to be a fascinating day.

"No! You said it out loud!" he furiously retorted. Oh. That explained it. She liked her theory better….

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "You weren't supposed to hear that. Besides, I didn't say that you were a super-midget. Just a normal midget."

_My, my, my, what an interesting color he's turning_, she thought, fascinated. _Is it mauve? Or perhaps burgundy would describe it better._

"I AM NOT A MIDGET!" he roared. "I'm taller than you, aren't I?!"

"Well, yes, but since 80% of the world's population is taller than me, I wouldn't exactly boast about it if I were you. So far, the only ones shorter are a Pygmy tribe in Africa and people below the age of ten," she replied, openly grinning now as she mercilessly poked fun at him.

Still glaring at her, he merely turned away in response, looking once more out the window whilst studiously ignoring her. Shrugging a little, Karin just placed his chart back in its place before stating, "That's all for now. I'll see you later, Hitsugaya-san."

As she walked out of the room, she glanced back one last time, noting how gorgeous he looked with the sun shining on his hair and a scowl on his face. Lucky thing for her that he was so rude and unfriendly, otherwise she'd_ really_ have a problem with the whole "never date a patient" thing.

Shaking her head slightly, she walked down the hallway, never noticing how his eyes strayed from the window to her retreating figure before abruptly snapping back to the view outside, almost as if he was consciously resisting watching her leave. But still, that one glimpse was all it took…

* * *

**Endnote: Well, this one is the first of three, and they'll be spaced slightly apart. Stay tuned to find out what happens next in Ch. 7: "Crossword"! And please review! :) **


	6. Tree

**Author's Note: Hi, everybody! We'd like to thank the following people for alerting, reviewing, or adding this story to their favorites list: anna1594, Turtle-chan in Blue, meggie-moo s, Shizuku700, SilverDragonEyeCardSpiritWolf, KK Prophet, Tempest Rose, ichilover3, Thelanblossom, lazyguy90, gabi1010, othchick11, Evslayer, roystealer, and KittyRiotLuvsYew053. Thank you to everyone who's read this drabble series as well. :D**

**This prompt is courtesy of PokerFace. It's set in the Bleachverse, shortly after the soccer game, and can be read as strictly angst/friendship. (If anyone would like to give me a prompt, just PM me. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong solely to Tite Kubo. However, if there was an alternate universe where I do own Bleach, I will promptly give my left arm to switch with my other self. :)**

* * *

**Chapter Six: Tree**

* * *

Karin lazily swung her feet through the air, her heels hitting the trunk of the tree every so often. She was sitting on her favorite branch, the one surrounded by leaves and shadows, providing her with an effective hiding place while allowing her to see everything below her. The tree was big and sturdy and easily supported her weight, and her particular perch was high enough to be a challenge and low enough so that she wouldn't die if she fell. The best thing about it, though, was that it afforded her a beautiful view of the sunset.

In her opinion, watching the sky was always done best in a tree. Ichi-nii had taught her to climb trees like a monkey, and soon she was using her small size and light weight to her advantage, climbing higher and faster than anyone else in their neighborhood. She'd watched clouds from the tops of trees and imagined them to be dragons and pirate ships, while Yuzu sat on the roots below, yelling up at her and sharing her visions of castles and fairies in the sky. Goat-chin had built them a tree house in their backyard, and let them place Mom's old telescope in it. At night, he'd pointed out the constellations and told all three of them to pick a star to call their own. But sunsets were the best, her and Yuzu and Ichi-nii sitting together in the old tree house, pretending as if the rest of the world didn't exist and that the tree would grow so tall and so fast that it would take them to heaven, and they could see Mom again.

Yes, trees had always been a form of escape for her.

Leaning back against her current favorite one, she tried to take in a little of its patience and strength, enough to get her through the days and weeks and maybe months ahead. There was school and soccer practice to think about, and Yuzu and Goat-chin to look after, but right now all she could concentrate on was Ichi-nii. He was still off doing training or whatever it was that caused him to accumulate so many scars. She didn't like to admit it, but she worried for him, even more than Yuzu did, because she actually had an inkling of the kind of danger he was up against. He could die, and she'd never know it, never find out the truth, because there wouldn't be a body left behind.

Her fingers dug into the smooth bark of the tree, tightening uncontrollably as she imagined a funeral with an empty casket and a million burning questions lodged in the back of her throat. Desperately, she closed her eyes and tried her best to sense her missing brother, sending out her reiatsu in an amateur attempt to locate him, even though she knew that it would give her no clues to his whereabouts, and probably give her a migraine instead. But still, she tried. Sighing a little as her prediction came true and Ichi-nii's familiar presence continued to remain hidden, she leaned forward and gazed blindly at the sunset. Taking in the soft, warm colors of the day fading into the cool, gentle shades of the night sky, she decided to trust in her brother, like Toushirou had said.

Speaking of Toushirou...

The shinigami taichou stepped lightly onto a tree directly across from hers, an impassive expression on his face.

She merely ignored him and continued to watch the sunset.

"You should stop letting your reiatsu flare so strongly. You'll attract every Hollow in town that way; it acts just like a beacon," he stated.

Carelessly, she shrugged.

"What's wrong with you today? You're not usually so quiet," he asked, genuinely puzzled.

"I'm just thinking about my idiot of a brother," she replied.

Sighing, Toushirou stated, "He'd hate it if you got yourself killed by a Hollow while trying to look for him."

"I know," she answered. There was really nothing he could say to that.

Lapsing into silence, Toushirou watched the sunset with her, thinking to himself that right here was another memory to associate with the death of the day, that of a young girl sitting in a tree, waiting for a brother who might never come home to find her.

* * *

**Endnote: I decided to go for a more serious feel in this one, though hopefully it wasn't too depressing. Thank you for reading it, and please review! :)**


	7. Crossword

**Author's Note: Hi, everybody! We'd like to thank the following people for alerting, reviewing, or adding this story to their favorites list: anna1594, Turtle-chan in Blue, meggie-moo s, Shizuku700, SilverDragonEyeCardSpiritWolf, KK Prophet, Tempest Rose, ichilover3, Thelanblossom, lazyguy90, gabi1010, othchick11, Evslayer, roystealer, KittyRiotLuvsYew053, and Red-Haired-Jack. Thank you to everyone who's read this drabble series as well. :D**

**This prompt is courtesy of Turtle-chan in Blue, and is set two or three months after "Bone." (If anyone would like to give me a prompt, just PM me. :) This is especially dedicated to her, as it's her birthday! :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong solely to Tite Kubo. However, if there was an alternate universe where I do own Bleach, I will promptly give my left arm to switch with my other self. :)**

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Crossword**

* * *

"Well, Hitsugaya-san, your leg is completely healed. You're lucky it was such a clean break; the bone set perfectly. It looks like that cast is ready to come off," Karin said brightly, smiling at her favorite patient, who only stared at her in response. Her grin growing wider, she decided to tease him a little by commenting on the rather…colorful…decorations on his cast. No doubt they were the reason he wanted it off so badly.

"So," she asked, "is that supposed to be a rainbow or a puddle of radioactive waste?"

Glaring at her, he said, "I have no clue. One of my colleagues' daughters drew it."

"Yes, I can see that," replied Karin, peering more closely at the cast. "Here, she signed her name, right? In neon green. '~~Yachiru Kusajishi~~ :D' Very pretty. I like how the smiley face has fangs. Oh, and look at this! You've got so many friends who wrote things for you. Let's see…'I hope you get better soon, Shiro-chan! Love, Momo'…'I'm sorry that you're injured, but I have candy to cheer you up. Sincerely, Ukitake-san'...'You wear this cast beautifully. –Ayesegawa'…. 'Get off your butt already. –Madarame'… 'I can't believe you broke your leg, Taichou! Don't worry, I'll take care of you and make you soup EVERY SINGLE DAY! Love, love, love, Matsumoto.' Who's Matsumoto? She signed it with bright pink ink. Is she your girlfriend?" Karin asked, crossing her fingers behind her back.

He scowled. Hmmm, that was a good sign. "No, she's my publicist," he answered tersely.

"Publicist?" Karin repeated, surprised. "What do you need a publicist for?"

"I'm a writer," he answered. "Mostly satire and short pieces on society, but the publisher who owns the magazine that prints my work wants me to try my hand at a novel. That's why I was snowboarding in the first place. Being up in the mountains can always inspire me. It just so happens that this time I managed to get myself injured," he finished, scowling.

"Oh," said Karin. "It must be interesting, being a writer." Inwardly, she winced at the idiotic rejoinder. "Interesting"? She couldn't think of something better to say?

"It has its moments," he replied, shrugging and placing his leg back on the floor.

"Wait…does this mean you're famous?" she asked, suddenly nervous.

"To some people, maybe," he said. Now it was her turn to scowl.

"Define 'some people,'" she retorted, crossing her arms as she tried to remember what her boss had said about him…oh, yeah: _He's a special case, Kurosaki, but I'm sure you'll be perfect for him. You're a damn good doctor, so he'll get the best care, but you can keep your mouth shut and your mind focused, and you won't let a little status and wealth distract you from doing your job. _She'd nodded absently in reply but hadn't really been paying attention. She'd just pulled a 12-hour shift, after all, and had been dying to get some coffee and relax, maybe take a few minutes and work on that crossword puzzle…

That reminded her…

Oh, no, Hitsugaya-san was talking again.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" she said, blinking a little. He frowned at first, clearly annoyed, before suddenly smirking, a mischievous look in his eyes.

"Distracted by my face?" he said nonchalantly, quirking a brow up at her.

"What?" she yelled in reply, her mouth dropping open. He chuckled lightly in response.

"Relax, Doctor. I was just teasing you. I thought you'd be used to it, seeing as how you do it to me all the time. Or can't you take a joke?" he asked, obviously baiting her.

Smiling wryly she shook her head before responding, "I wasn't sure you had a sense of humor. I was almost going to place 'emotional response delayed' on your list of symptoms before I noticed that you were here just for a broken leg."

Scowling a bit, he opened his mouth to reply before closing it and tilting his head to the side, observing her. "Sorry if I struck you as odd," he finally said. "I'm just good at keeping my feelings under control."

"Sure, sure," she said. "No problem."

A brief silence fell, before he casually broke it by saying, "So, you never did answer my question."

"What question? Oh, is it the one I missed?" she asked.

"You could say that. I asked you if you were distracted by my face," he said, looking at her.

Blushing a little, she scowled and said, "Of course I wasn't. Doctors can't date their patients."

"Oh, really? What a shame," he said, and before she could ask him what he meant by that comment, he'd sent another question her way: "What were you reminded of?"

"Huh?" she said. Okay, so this wasn't her best conversation. Give her a break, alright? She specialized in medicine, not in repartee. And the guy was a satirist, meaning he had to be at least a _little _witty.

"There you are again, going off into the distance," he said, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. "Two minutes ago I was telling you how my readership base consists mostly of the twenty-to-thirty-year-old intellectual crowd, with a couple of fans in mainstream culture, when you suddenly muttered, 'That reminds me…'"

And here he raised a questioning brow up at her, finishing with, "So are you finally going to tell me what you were thinking of?"

Backtracking, she laughed and replied, "Oh, I was just thinking about crosswords."

"Crosswords?" Hitsugaya asked, puzzled.

"Mm-hm. I was supposed to go on break the first day you were assigned to me, and I never did get to finish it," Karin said, turning to rummage in her bag and digging up the newspaper. "Here we are!" she exclaimed triumphantly, showing him the crossword she was working on.

"You have only one word filled in," he said incredulously. "And that newspaper is three months old. What kind of horrible skills do you possess, that you can't even solve more than one clue in that amount of time?"

"Shut up!" she yelled. "It's not my fault I never had the time. Besides, I suck at these kinds of things. My sister just told me to try it for fun. She worries that I don't do anything besides work and eat and sleep."

"Hn," Hitsugaya said, before scooting over and making room on the examination chair for her. Bemused, she sat down beside him.

"Ummm…I have to get to work, you know," she said tentatively. Oh, how she wished she didn't, though. There was that evil pile of paperwork waiting in her office, and her personal coffee machine had broken down…

"No, you don't," he absently replied. "You were supposed to give me a physical and a complete rundown on my medical status. Matsumoto insisted, and got your director to clear off your schedule so you could spend the rest of the day with me."

"Oh," Karin stated. "Oh, right. I remember that. I was kind of looking forward to having an easy day, babysitting a single patient and then heading off to lunch or something."

"We can do that later," Hitsugaya muttered, before penciling in something on the crossword puzzle. "Let me help you with this first."

"Alright," Karin replied, grinning. Cool. She could show Yuzu the finished puzzle and prove that her life wasn't completely taken up with injections and hospitals, and she didn't even have to do the work herself. _And_ her benefactor was even offering to give her free food later.

Wait. Did he just ask her out on a _date_?

Suddenly aware that she was cozying up pretty comfortably with a patient, she opened her mouth to object to his meddling when he asked her, "What do you think is a nine-letter word for 'strength'?"

"Uh, 'powerful'?" she ventured, distracted.

"No, that's only eight letters. I think it's gotta be 'fortitude,'" he said, writing it in.

"What number was that?" Karin asked, pulling the puzzle—and his hand—closer to her.

"It was six, across. See any you know?" Hitsugaya asked.

"Fourteen, down. A five-letter word for 'joyful' is definitely 'happy,'" she answered, satisfied with her contribution.

"Alright. What about number thirteen, down? 'The word that indicates refusal,'" he said, handing the pencil to her.

"No!" she shouted, writing it down with a grin. "But what's the word connected to it? Let's see…number two, across: 'the lowest point.' Five letters, starting with 'n,'" she said, throwing him a challenging glance.

"'Nadir,'" he answered immediately.

"How on earth do you know something like _that_?" she asked. "Is that even a word?"

"Of course it is. And I'm a writer, remember? Words are my living," he replied, taking the pencil back and getting to work solving the rest of the clues, with Karin leaning on his shoulder and helpfully interjecting a couple of her guesses.

Twenty minutes later, a nurse passing by Exam Room 132 paused abruptly, watching in disbelief as Dr. Kurosaki, one of the most reliable and brilliant doctors in the hospital, giggled uncontrollably while ruffling the snow-white hair of a man with his leg in a cast, before standing up and shouting, "I've finished it! Crossword, you are defeated forever!"

"Don't forget that they print more of those each week," the patient replied.

And though Dr. Kurosaki scowled and stamped her foot, the nurse couldn't help but think that she looked a lot happier than she'd seen her in months.

Maybe the man wasn't a patient at all, but her boyfriend. The nurse certainly hoped so. Dr. Kurosaki could do with a bit more romance in her life…and they looked so cute together, after all, sitting side by side, laughing together over a crossword puzzle.

* * *

**Endnote: Alright! Happy Birthday, Turtle-chan in Blue! And sorry I couldn't post it earlier, but I hoped you liked it anyway! Everyone else, thank you for reading and please review! :)**


	8. Gate

**Author's Note: Hi, everybody! We'd like to thank the following people for alerting, reviewing, or adding this story to their favorites list: anna1594, Turtle-chan in Blue, meggie-moo s, Shizuku700, SilverDragonEyeCardSpiritWolf, KK Prophet, Tempest Rose, ichilover3, Thelanblossom, lazyguy90, gabi1010, othchick11, Evslayer, roystealer, KittyRiotLuvsYew053, Red-Haired-Jack, ScienceAngel, Doremon, and oOoHKoOo. Thank you to everyone who's read this drabble series as well. :D**

**This prompt is courtesy of PokerFace, and is set a decade or so in the future. Warning: Angst up ahead. (If anyone would like to give me a prompt, just PM me. :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong solely to Tite Kubo. However, if there was an alternate universe where I do own Bleach, I will promptly give my left arm to switch with my other self. :)**

* * *

**Chapter Eight: Gate**

* * *

She loved him and he loved her. It was as simple as that, and it should have been enough, should have meant happily ever after, together forever, until death do them part and beyond.

But even if she loved him and he loved her, it didn't mean that they loved each other the same way. Because love was never that simple. Because sometimes love wasn't enough. Because they lived in a world where happily ever after was impossible, where forever never lasted, and where death had already parted them.

* * *

She loved him the way the earth loved the rain, the way the day loved the night, the way the moon loved the sun, the way a woman loved a man. She loved him as if he was all she would ever need.

She loved him the way she loved sunsets and soccer games and shining stars and strength that would never fail. She loved him as if he was all she would ever want.

She loved him as more than a friend, more than herself, more than he loved her.

She gave him her whole heart, and he gave her his shadow.

* * *

He loved her the way the ocean loved the shore, the way the night loved silence, the way the sun loved the planets, the way a man loved the closest friend of his heart. He loved her as if she was the one he could turn to in times of need.

He loved her the way he loved sunrises and swordfights and the darkness surrounding the stars and the strength to get up after failing. He loved her as if she was the opposite of what he wanted, but could never have.

He would never love her as more than a friend, more than himself, more than he loved _her_.

He gave her his shadow, because he'd already given his heart away.

* * *

Oh, she knew of course. She knew that he loved her because she didn't remind him of she-who-must-never-be-mentioned. She knew that she was his escape from nightmares rather than the girl of his dreams. But she shrugged it aside and hid the pain and told herself that it didn't matter, that friendship was more than enough, that she could wait for years for him to love her, and never regret it if he never did.

And so she laughed and smiled and carelessly swung her hands, semi-content to own his shadow and nothing more. At least it was something. And she ignored the voice that whispered of how he loved_ her_ so much that he still watched sunsets, that he still cared for the peach tree planted in her memory, that he still visited her grave every single week without fail.

If sometimes she wondered what it would be like to have his arms around her as more than a friend, wondered what his eyes would look like if she was his lover, wondered if he could ever love her the way he loved sunsets rather than sunrises…

But she never wondered.

And he never noticed. He was too busy watching the sunset, his mind lost in memories.

* * *

But the day came when he turned to look beside him, and she wasn't there. His shadow was gone. Following the footsteps she left behind, he walked to the beginning of the world, to the place where the sun rose. And saw a house with a simple gate, the girl he loved second-most standing in front of it. Fear clenching at his heart, he stepped forward, stopping as she turned around and smiled at him.

"I love you," he said.

"I know," she replied. "I love you, too. But not the way you love me. And your shadow isn't enough anymore. Not enough to keep us together, not enough for you to find me after…"

And she walked forward into the House of Death, the gate swinging shut behind her, leaving him behind to hold both their memories.

* * *

If sometimes he should see her walking in the Rukongai, her hand held by another man, he might watch her for a moment, see how her smile lit her face, how she was content now. If sometimes he should wonder what might have been, if he'd given her more than his shadow…

But he never wondered.

And she never noticed. She was too busy watching sunsets and trying to remember why they made her feel so sad.

* * *

**Endnote: I decided to try and portray a different outcome to their relationship than I usually do, since one of my goals for this series is to capture all sides of the HitsuKarin love story. And love stories don't always end happily…sometimes they just end. **

**Thank you for reading it, and please review! :)**


	9. Burger

**Author's Note: Hi, everybody! We'd like to thank the following people for alerting, reviewing, or adding this story to their favorites list: anna1594, Turtle-chan in Blue, meggie-moo s, Shizuku700, SilverDragonEyeCardSpiritWolf, KK Prophet, Tempest Rose, ichilover3, Thelanblossom, lazyguy90, gabi1010, othchick11, Evslayer, roystealer, KittyRiotLuvsYew053, Red-Haired-Jack, ScienceAngel, Doremon, oOoHKoOo, DeathMeetsLife, kiri123, fanofanime, Ginevra1988, and SomeRandomPerson053. Thank you to everyone who's read this drabble series as well. :D**

**This prompt is courtesy of PokerFace, and is set two years or so in the future, when Karin's around thirteen. This drabble can be read as strictly friendship/nakamaship (If anyone would like to give me a prompt, just PM me. :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong solely to Tite Kubo. However, if there was an alternate universe where I do own Bleach, I will promptly give my left arm to switch with my other self. :)**

* * *

**Chapter Nine: Burger**

* * *

"You know, Toushirou, those things are ridiculously unhealthy. I mean, just look at it! It's dripping with fatty juices, and don't even try and tell me that those vegetables are pesticide-free and market-fresh. That cheeseburger is a guaranteed cancer sandwich."

"…"

"I'm serious, Toush!"

Crunch. Munch. Chew. _Gulp_.

"Toushirou! I can't believe it! You're actually eating it! Did you hear a word I said?"

"…"

"Answer me! I'm wondering if you know how that extremely large, extremely juicy, extremely delicious-looking burger is going to give you a heart attack. It may look wonderful, and smell savory, and taste like heaven, but that thing is going to kill you!"

"Do I look like I care, Kurosaki?"

"Finally, a response. But I never thought you'd go the suicidal route on me. What am I going to do when you drop dead from the grease clogging your arteries?"

"Kurosaki. Your sister made this burger."

"So? Doesn't mean it's healthy!"

"…You ate yours."

"Well, of course I did! I can't hurt Yuzu's feelings! But you—you're just giving into gluttony right there. I mean, that burger is obviously way too large for someone your size. Your body won't be able to handle it."

"Please. I'm a growing boy. I need the food."

"Toushirou!"

"Look, would you just shut up and let me eat already?"

"…You can't say I didn't warn you."

Chew, chew, chew. Pause. Sigh.

"…What is this?"

"What does it look like, Kurosaki? It's half my cancer-inducing burger. Now are you going to take it or what?"

"I never said I wanted it!"

"…"

"Don't you raise that eyebrow at me!"

"…You've got a pretty strange way of begging for scraps, you know."

"I was not begging! I was tryingto save your life!"

"By stealing half my burger?"

"Hey, you're the one who handed it over."

"True."

Mutter, mutter, munch.

Chew, chew, swallow.

"This burger is to die for."

"Then it's a good thing I'm already dead, isn't it?"

"…"

"…"

"Hey, Toushirou…?"

"What, Kurosaki?"

"…Thanks."

"…You're welcome."

* * *

**Endnote: Wow, this was a fun one to write! I wanted to try my hand at writing dialogue only (or very nearly). Hopefully it wasn't confusing. :D **

**Thank you for reading, and please review! :)**


	10. Whiskey Lullaby

**Author's Note: Hi, everybody! We'd like to thank the following people for alerting, reviewing, or adding this story to their favorites list: anna1594, Turtle-chan in Blue, meggie-moo s, Shizuku700, SilverDragonEyeCardSpiritWolf, KK Prophet, Tempest Rose, ichilover3, Thelanblossom, lazyguy90, gabi1010, othchick11, Evslayer, roystealer, KittyRiotLuvsYew053, Red-Haired-Jack, ScienceAngel, Doremon, oOoHKoOo, DeathMeetsLife, kiri123, fanofanime, Ginevra1988, SomeRandomPerson053. Thank you to everyone who's read this drabble series as well. :D**

**This prompt is courtesy of SomeRandomPerson053, and this one-shot is dedicated to KittyRiotLuvsYew053 as a (belated) birthday present! This is set fifteen years or so in the future, when Karin's around twenty-seven. This chapter is notable for being the first song-based one. Warning: Character death and suicide and enough angst to bottle up and sell on the black market. (If anyone would like to give me a prompt, just PM me. :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong solely to Tite Kubo. However, if there was an alternate universe where I do own Bleach, I will promptly give my left arm to switch with my other self. :) (Oh, I don't own the song either...)**

* * *

**Chapter Ten: Whiskey Lullaby**

* * *

It was the death of the day, yet again coming to mock her and remind her of the death of her heart.

Why didn't the sun stop shining? Why didn't the world stop turning? Why was life going on around her like nothing had changed when everything had? How could people go on laughing and crying and living when she was so empty, so shattered? How was that _possible_?

Better question: Why was she still alive when he was dead?

Why was she still breathing when it was her fault that he was gone?

_She put him out like the burnin' end of a midnight cigarette_

_She broke his heart he spent his whole life tryin' to forget_

_We watched him drink his pain away a little at a time_

_But he never could get drunk enough to get her off his mind_

_Until the night…_

She hadn't meant to hurt him. She'd _never_ meant to hurt him.

But that was exactly what she'd done.

"Go away, Toushirou! I told you, I don't love you anymore!" she'd yelled.

"I don't believe you! You don't mean that. You _can't_ mean that. Karin, look at me!" he'd shouted back, desperately clutching at her arms.

She'd pushed him away, rejected him again and again, told him she hated him and that she never wanted to see him again. Slowly, in time, his absolute belief in her love had faded away, and doubt crept into his soul in the face of her resolute denials.

She laughed bitterly. How ironic was it, that all the time she was denying that she loved him, claiming she wanted nothing more than a normal life and a normal love, the only person she hadn't managed to convince was herself?

Oh, but she'd managed to convince him. Oh, yes, she had.

She still remembered it, remembered the day he finally gave up on her.

She'd taken someone else to _their _railing. She didn't even remember his name anymore, but she remembered Toushirou's face as she told that faceless man how much she loved him, how much she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, and only him. How there would never be anyone else.

Toushirou hadn't looked like he was in pain at all. How could he, when he didn't have a soul left with which to_ feel _pain? She remembered it, remembered it as if it were yesterday, remembered the light dying in his eyes, the shadows coming in to replace everything about him that was _him_.

_He put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger_

_And finally drank away her memory_

_Life is short but this time it was bigger_

_Than the strength he had to get up off his knees_

God, oh, God! How she'd wanted to run to him, to tell him it was all a lie, that the words she'd spoken were for him. Only him. But it was too late. He was gone, disappeared into thin air.

She'd gotten her wish.

_We found him with his face down in the pillow_

_With a note that said I'll love her till I die_

_And when we buried him beneath the willow_

_The angels sang a whiskey lullaby_

Six months later he was dead, killed in a suicide mission that everyone knew he should've survived. But he hadn't survived, because his reason for living wasn't there anymore.

Because she said she didn't love him.

_The rumors flew but nobody knew how much she blamed herself_

_For years and years she tried to hide the whiskey on her breath_

_She finally drank her pain away a little at a time_

_But she never could get drunk enough to get him off her mind_

_Until the night…_

Everyone blamed her. Hell, she blamed herself. It was her fault, her fault he was gone.

If only she'd been stronger! She'd never wanted to hurt him, never wanted to leave him…but she was so scared! He was so brilliant, so amazing, so wonderful…it was too good to be true. One day, he'd wake up and realize that he was an idiot for loving her, and he'd leave. So she had to leave first, didn't she?

He was a shinigami taichou. He'd find someone else, someone prettier and smarter and _better _than she was. Someone who never doubted him, never doubted that he'd come home safe and sound and alive. Someone who never felt afraid when he left her side to do his duty and save the world. Someone who'd never have to wonder if this was the day he wasn't coming back, because she'd be right there next to him, watching his back. Someone who was _worth_ loving. Not someone like her, someone so weak that she couldn't even protect her friends from the Hollows, couldn't keep her sister from dying.

How could someone like him love someone like her?

How could she have known that he couldn't live without her?

Well, he didn't have to worry about that anymore…she was coming to find him.

_She put that bottle to her head and pulled the trigger_

_And finally drank away his memory_

_Life is short but this time it was bigger_

_Than the strength she had to get up off her knees_

_We found her with her face down in the pillow_

_Clinging to his picture for dear life_

_We laid her next to him beneath the willow_

_While the angels sang a whiskey lullaby_

Now she sat alone in the bed they'd shared with an empty bottle beside her and an emptier heart inside her, thump-thumping away as she closed her eyes and listened for his long-gone voice…but it never came.

"I'm sorry, Toushirou. I'm so sorry," she whispered. And she took the empty gun in her hand, placed a bullet in it, put that gun to her head, and pulled the trigger.

And right before her life was snuffed out, she swore she could hear his voice, murmuring in her ear. Her own lovely lullaby.

* * *

**Endnote: Majorly depressing, I know. And I fear it's OOC as well, but it was the only thing I could come up with. Hopefully KittyRiotLuvsYew053 likes this, and I'll try to make the next three or so drabbles happy to make up for all the dark, angsty ones I've written.**

**Thank you for reading, and please review! :)**


	11. Beach

**Author's Note: Hi, everybody! We'd like to thank the following people for alerting, reviewing, or adding this story to their favorites list: anna1594, Turtle-chan in Blue, meggie-moo s, Shizuku700, SilverDragonEyeCardSpiritWolf, Love Guru KK, strawberryfishcakes, Tempest Rose, ichilover3, Thelanblossom, lazyguy90, gabi1010, othchick11, Evslayer, roystealer, KittyRiotLuvsYew053, Red-Haired-Jack, ScienceAngel, Doremon, oOoHKoOo, DeathMeetsLife, kiri123, fanofanime, Ginevra1988, SomeRandomPerson053, Vilutski, fleurdefeu, amirasyaz, chiharuSAICHI, and alexsstrawberry. Thank you to everyone who's read this drabble series as well. :D**

**This prompt is courtesy of Love Guru KK, so it's dedicated specially to him. :D This one is set six or seven years in the future. Warning: The content is slightly more…mature than usual. In the lust-filled thoughts kind of way. But don't worry, it's nothing worse than a T rating. XP (If anyone would like to give me a prompt, just PM me. It'll probably take a while to get written, what with the ten or so requests I've got waiting, but it'll pop up, promise! :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong solely to Tite Kubo. However, if there was an alternate universe where I do own Bleach, I will promptly give my left arm to switch with my other self. :)**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Beach**

* * *

Hitsugaya Toushirou sat slumped on a bar stool, laying his head down against the drinks counter of a trendy little snack shack. Clutched in his hand was a glass filled to the brim with ice, which he carelessly popped into his mouth and chewed. Slamming the glass down again and sliding it to the bartender, who quickly refilled it while shooting him odd looks, he groaned and morosely contemplated his predicament.

Oh, how he hated summer! He hated it, hated it, hated it! He hated the glaring sun, the muggy air, and the increasingly longer days and later sunsets. But most of all, he hated the oppressive, all-encompassing heat. Why the hell did it have to get so _hot_?

Really, the world should have just stayed in the Ice Age.

Muttering to himself, Hitsugaya inched ever closer to the air conditioner, cursing Matsumoto and the others for dragging him with them on their idiotic excursion to the Real World. Who cared about the stupid annual get-together anyway? And why did it have to be held on the beach in mid-July? Were they _trying_ to kill him? He thought he heard Hyourinmaru murmur in agreement, but he couldn't be sure. His dragon had retreated _far_ into the recesses of their wonderfully frozen inner world.

_Lucky zanpakutou_, Hitsugaya thought.

"Taichou! Oh, Taiiiichoouuu!" Matsumoto crooned, suddenly materializing beside him.

"What?" he said in reply.

Pouting, Matsumoto playfully slapped his arm before pulling him off the stool—and away from his beloved air conditioner.

"What are you doing?" he shouted, trying to stay seated in vain. Within moments they were outside, exposed to the blazing rays of the sun, which glinted off the clear blue water of the ocean and the golden sand of the beach. Feeling the sweat make its way down his back, he broke Matsumoto's hold on him and hastily stripped off his shirt, ignoring the murmurs of appreciation that came from the females in the vicinity. It was too damn hot to wear his usual black t-shirt.

"Taichou! You can't stay inside all day! It's bad for your health. The point of a vacation is to relax and have fun. What_ you _were doing was developing an addiction to ice cubes—an unhealthy habit if I ever saw one!" his fukutaichou answered cheerfully while scanning their surroundings. She started waving madly once she caught sight of the rest of their group, clutching his arm once more and dragging him along behind her as she shouted, "I found him! I found him!"

If she was so worried about his health, she could have just left him alone, away from the harmful UV rays and her arm-wrenching grip. But resigned to his fate, he followed reluctantly, noting the presence of most of their human friends, including Ichigo and his family—minus one important member.

_Huh. Where's Karin?_ Toushirou wondered. _She wanted to go surfing today, if I recall correctly._

Meanwhile, his fukutaichou and Inoue Orihime squealed and ran towards each other, finally freeing up his arm. Rubbing his elbow, he walked over to Yuzu.

"Hello, Yuzu-chan. Is Karin surfing already?" he asked.

"Oh, hi, Toushirou-kun! Eh, I don't think Karin will be surfing today, since Otou-san ran over her board yesterday. That's why he's got a black eye. But don't worry, she'll be here in about a minute. She's just being stubborn about something stupid. Oh! I almost forgot! She's got a couple of ice packs with her, so that should help with the heat a bit. We know you don't like summer," Yuzu said, ever the perfect caretaker, her pretty smile attracting the notice of a couple guys on the beach. She was dressed in a pink one-piece with matching sandals, and dragged a large cooler behind her. No doubt it was filled with drinks and food for a beach barbecue…and ice.

Wait! He shouldn't think about that. Yuzu had mentioned personal ice packs with Karin, so all he'd have to do was find his friend and retrieve them. Piece of cake. Briefly he wondered what "stupid thing" she was being stubborn about, but from the look on Yuzu's face, it didn't seem like she cared to elaborate.

Muttering his thanks, he turned away and waved at Ichigo, only to have the substitute shinigami walk towards him, a calculating look in his eyes.

"Look, Toushirou," Ichigo started to say.

"It's Hitsugaya-taichou," he interjected.

"Whatever. Anyway, just between us guys, would you mind staying with Karin today? I know you'd rather be inside, but I promised I'd go sailing with Renji and Chad, so I need someone to keep an eye on her. A chaste, brotherly eye, of course," Ichigo continued, his stare intensifying with the last part of the sentence.

"Uh…sure," Toushirou replied, uncertain about what he meant. "But Karin's strong enough to take down most mid-level Hollows. She can take care of herself."

"Not this time around. And it's not Hollows I'm worried about—it's the humans. Human boys, specifically. Idiotic, hormonal, perverted human boys. I need you to keep them away from her. But if I even _think_ you're taking advantage of my trust," here the glare returned, multiplied by about a thousand, "and cozying up to Karin yourself, you can bet that I'll bankai your ass faster than you can say 'Help!'" Ichigo finished before abruptly stalking away.

"Okay, _that_ was weird," Toushirou said, right before turning around as a familiar voice spoke his name. Looking behind him, his reply died on his lips as he stared in shock at one Kurosaki Karin.

In a black swimsuit. A _skimpy _black swimsuit. In fact, it could probably be described as a…

"You're wearing a bikini," he stated disbelievingly.

Karin turned fire-hydrant red before punching his shoulder and replying, "Don't you _dare _start, Toushirou! This was completely unwilling on my part. Yuzu just 'happened' to lose all our swimsuits except for the ones we're wearing, and there's no way I'd let her walk around and get ogled while wearing this monstrosity," she said, gesturing at the bikini. "And besides, the other one was _pink_. There's no way I'd let _myself_ walk around and get laughed at for wearing _pink_."

Shrugging, he decided to make no comments and kept his eyes averted, trying to dispel the awkward feeling that had come over him. "So…you have ice packs for me?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah!" she replied, taking off her backpack and handing him a deliciously cold ice pack. He held it to his forehead for a few moments, wishing he could somehow strap it on for the rest of the day, before putting it down reluctantly. Laughing, Karin grinned at him, and he caught his breath at the sight of her sudden smile.

Coughing slightly to clear his throat, he asked, "You want to go and join the volleyball game? Looks like it might be fun," he said, attributing the slight blush on his face to the heat.

"Nah," she replied. "I'd rather just go and bury my father in the sand for breaking my surfboard…but I promised Yuzu I wouldn't, so I guess I'll just help set up for the barbecue."

Following her, they went and helped the others carry out tables, unfold chairs, set up umbrellas, and lay stuff out for the big beach barbecue. They did this for half an hour or so, long enough for everything to get set up and for Yuzu and Isshin to start cooking. Yuzu smiled at them in thanks, and assured her twin that she looked great in her outfit. Karin merely huffed and gave their father a matching black eye as he seconded Yuzu's statement.

"Stupid Goat-chin," she muttered as they walked away, sent on an errand to go and buy more firewood for the bonfire later that night. "I'm going to murder him one day."

Toushirou was too busy glaring at any boy who glanced her way to answer. He suddenly understood Ichigo's earlier over-protectiveness, and made sure to keep in stride with Karin, walking so close to her that their arms occasionally brushed. She didn't seem to notice the contact, but he was almost painfully aware of it…and aware of her.

_When did she get so_ sexy_?_ he wondered. _I mean, I know I'm used to seeing her in baggy clothes, but you'd think I'd have noticed before now…wait a minute! Wait a minute!_ _This is_ Karin _you're thinking about here_! Karin! _Your friend! What the hell are you doing, checking her out? Just because she's a bit more exposed than usual is no reason to act like a pervert. So stop staring at all that pale, smooth skin and those soft, slim curves…_

He groaned inwardly. Seeing her in that get-up stirred feelings in him that were strange and unfamiliar and more than a little disconcerting. Feelings that urged him to find out if her skin was as smooth as it looked, if her curves would fit snugly against his body, if she'd taste as good as he imagined…

_STOP THIS!_ his mind screamed. _Stop torturing yourself!_

Meanwhile, Karin was having some problems of her own. She wasn't nearly as indifferent as she was acting, and was in fact vibrantly aware of the tension building between them. She just didn't know how to react.

After all, it wasn't every day that she saw Toushirou half naked. She'd surreptitiously stared at him for the past hour, memorizing every line of his lean, muscled chest, her eyes greedily tracing each drop of sweat as it made its way down the angles of his body. She also couldn't help but observe the way his white hair contrasted gloriously with his tanned skin. Or the way his wide shoulders flexed as he moved. Or the way his shorts rode low on his slim hips, clinging quite nicely to his…

_What are you doing?_ she mentally berated herself. _He's your friend! Your friend! What are you going to do, jump him as soon you get the chance? Hmmm…that doesn't sound like a bad idea at all, actually-no! No! Get yourself under control, Karin! You are not jeopardizing your friendship just because of crazy hormones. _

Glancing at him as he walked beside her, she kept her gaze focused solely on his face. Which didn't help much at all, as his face was just as gorgeous as his body. It also didn't help that his expression was currently set in a scowl, as he was no doubt still disgruntled from the heat. But the way his teal eyes looked so fierce and sexy, the way his mouth crooked ever so slightly to the left…really, was he trying to kill her by giving her heat stroke?

She was shaken out of her thoughts when he spoke to her.

"How much firewood do we need?" he asked.

Oh, yeah. Firewood. "Just one bundle will do, I think," she replied, a little belatedly. She went and paid for it, and let him carry it on their way back, trying not to notice how effortlessly he moved-and failed miserably.

Back at their group's base of operations, Toushirou dropped off the load of wood, and Karin ran to the ocean, wading in until the water reached her thighs. Splashing around, she grinned mischievously as Toushirou started to set up an umbrella, obviously planning to retreat underneath its shade. Grabbing a plastic bucket, she filled it with water and made her way towards him, waiting until he was unfolding a beach towel before dumping the water on him. Laughing as she ran away, Toushirou hot on her heels, she went straight for the ocean. Soon they were kicking and splashing like a couple of five-year-olds.

Fifteen minutes later, giggling as he mercilessly tickled her, she managed to gasp out, "Okay! Okay! I'm sorry! I surrender!"

Satisfied, Toushirou leaned back on his heels, noticing how the heat was almost bearable when he was wet. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all. Seeing the forgotten bucket close by, he picked it up and filled it with water, walking a little further away to sit on the ground.

"What are you doing?" Karin asked.

"I'm going to make a sand sculpture," he replied. "There was a contest a few years back, but I didn't participate because it was too hot. And I didn't have a partner."

"Heh, that sounds like you," she said, moving over to help him. "So what do you want to make?"

"A castle," he said decisively. Smiling at how relaxed and playful he was being, Karin helped him build his castle, arguing with him about the finer points of its architecture.

Surveying their finished work half an hour later, Karin nodded approvingly at its three foot high walls, its misshapen tower, and its rather deep moat, which she'd insisted on including: "It's just not a castle without a moat, Toush!"

"I think all it needs now are some decorations," she said.

"Decorations?" he said.

"Yup. Yuzu always decorated our old ones with sea shells and things, while I preferred sticks and seaweed. So I'll gather up some particularly good seaweed, and you can tackle the sticks," she replied, already moving away. Shrugging, he went off to find suitable sticks, gathering a few before walking back. But as he approached their sand castle, he heard Karin's voice yelling angrily, and immediately started sprinting in her direction.

Karin, meanwhile, was seriously pissed off. All she'd been doing was minding her own business, looking for seaweed, when three moronic idiots decided to hit on her. She'd politely declined, then started yelling as one of them grabbed her arm. Now she was going to have to beat up a couple of thugs when she'd been having _such_ a nice, relaxing day. She'd _told_ Yuzu that the stinking bikini would cause problems like this, but her twin had just rolled her eyes in disbelief and insisted she wear it (or the pink one). "For Toushirou. It'll be good for him to see you in something more feminine," Yuzu'd hinted suggestively, as Karin had gaped at her like a dying fish.

Not that it had much effect on him. He hadn't acted any differently; in fact, all her sister's meddling had managed to do was encourage some jerks to harass her. She was just about to punch the one holding onto her arm when a deadly voice cut in.

"Let her go," Toushirou said in an icy tone, his eyes glinting threateningly. Two of the thugs immediately stepped back, but the third one belligerently pulled Karin closer.

"Get your own girl," he sneered. "This one's mine."

Karin could never actually remember what happened next. All she knew was that in about two seconds, the guy was gasping for breath, sprawled out on the sand, and Toushirou was holding her possessively at his side as he shot death glares to the other two, saying, "If you come anywhere near _my_ girl, I'll kill you, find you in the afterlife, and kill you again."

Then he was pulling her away, moving in the direction of their group, muttering how he _never _should've left her alone and how he was _never _letting anyone else see her in that ridiculous bikini again. People kept on staring at her, and no one should get to admire her skin and legs and curves besides _him_.

As she listened incredulously, he suddenly seemed to realize what he was doing, and abruptly let her go, staring at her as his face turned red from embarrassment.

"I-I'm sorry," he stuttered. "I didn't mean to drag you around like that. I know you could've handled it by yourself, but seeing that bastard touching you was just—well, I lost control for a bit."

"Did you mean what you said?" she asked.

"What?" he answered.

"Did you mean what you said when you were holding me? That you don't want anyone else to look at me besides you?" she clarified.

Toushirou was absolutely mortified. He'd said that _out loud_? Way to blow his cover. But there Karin was, eyes wide—in disgust, he thought—waiting for his answer. He couldn't lie to her…not even if it meant he'd ruin their friendship.

"Yes," he said.

He was unprepared for what happened next. Karin suddenly grabbed his shoulders, pulled him forward, and started kissing him. She. Was. Kissing. Him. His brain just short-circuited at that point, and he let instinct take over, curving his hands around her hips and pulling her closer. His lips greedily moved over hers, tasting her sweet flavor, glorying in the softness of her lips before moving down to nibble at the crook of her neck. Kami help him, her skin was as smooth as he'd thought and she tasted even better than he'd imagined. And her curves felt so…

Just as he lost himself more deeply in the kiss, a shout caused him to pull away hastily.

"Masaki! Masaki, our Karin has finally fallen in love!" Isshin crowed ecstatically while hugging Yuzu.

"Woo-hoo! Go, Taichou!" yelled Matsumoto, standing beside him and taking pictures. The rest of the shinigami and humans were also clapping and hooting enthusiastically, playing the part of enthusiastic, unwanted spectators perfectly.

Karin and Toushirou sheepishly (if reluctantly) parted, holding hands as they carefully avoided each other's gazes.

Clearing his throat, Toushirou said, "So I guess you don't mind being my girl."

Karin was about to reply when an ominous reiatsu filled the area and a menacing voice abruptly cut off the cheering:

"Toushirou, don't say I didn't warn you…BANKAI!"

As Toushirou shunpo'd away as fast as he could, running away from his murderous future brother-in-law, he glanced back one last time, catching a glimpse of Karin's grinning face and laughing eyes.

And he thought to himself, _Maybe summer isn't so bad after all…_

* * *

**Endnote: Well, this was a little longer than usual, but I hope you like it anyway. Thanks again to Love Guru KK for his prompt! And please review! :D **


	12. Watermelon

**Author's Note: Hi, everybody! We'd like to thank the following people for alerting, reviewing, or adding this story to their favorites list: anna1594, Turtle-chan in Blue, meggie-moo s, Shizuku700, SilverDragonEyeCardSpiritWolf, Love Guru KK, strawberryfishcakes, Tempest Rose, ichilover3, Thelanblossom, lazyguy90, gabi1010, othchick11, Evslayer, roystealer, KittyRiotLuvsYew053, Red-Haired-Jack, ScienceAngel, Doremon, oOoHKoOo, DeathMeetsLife, kiri123, fanofanime, Ginevra1988, SomeRandomPerson053, Vilutski, fleurdefeu, amirasyaz, chiharuSAICHI, alexsstrawberry, PunkRockHolly, paws-bells, Quiet Moon, kusanagi10, ThePeopleStillSleeping, and MorningStar04. Thank you to everyone who's read this drabble series as well. :D**

**This prompt is courtesy of Love Guru KK, so it's dedicated specially to him. :D This one is set five years or so in the future, post-Winter War. (If anyone would like to give me a prompt, just PM me. It'll probably take a while to get written, what with the ten or so requests I've got waiting, but it'll pop up, promise! :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong solely to Tite Kubo. However, if there was an alternate universe where I do own Bleach, I will promptly give my left arm to switch with my other self. :)**

* * *

**Chapter Twelve: Watermelon**

* * *

"Okay, now how exactly does this game work?" Hitsugaya asked.

"The goal is to shoot as many of the annoying yellow ducks as possible. The one who kills more of them wins. If we get 'em all, we get one of those stuffed animals on that shelf over there, and then we give it to Yuzu," Karin replied. "Kami-sama knows why she likes them, but she does, so me and Ichi-nii try to get her one every year during this festival. It's a summer tradition."

"Then why isn't Kurosaki the one holding a plastic rifle and hunting ducks with oddly colored hats?" Hitsugaya inquired. "And are they supposed to be grinning like that? They look like they'll come to life and start murdering people."

"Hey, I said they were annoying. Besides, Ichi-nii broke his leg, remember? So now he's stuck with Goat-chin pushing him around in a wheelchair. It's hilarious to watch, but he's not exactly capable of winning any game booth prizes right now," said Karin. "Now shut up and start shooting. We want to get that huge teddy bear with the neon yellow vest, so that means some major duck killing."

"Fine, Karin. Whatever you say," said Hitsugaya, raising the rifle to eye-level and expertly shooting. Within twenty seconds he'd cleaned out two whole rows. Turning to look at Karin, he found her staring at him, her jaw dropped in shock.

"What?" he asked, smirking a little.

"You show-off," she muttered, raising her own rifle. "Never told me you could handle a gun. I suppose I should have known, since apparently you're good at absolutely _everything_."

"Please, Karin," replied Hitsugaya as he continued shooting. "It's a toy. All you have to do is point and shoot. Nothing difficult about it at all."

"Oh, really? Well, let's see if you can top this," she replied, and rapidly shot six ducks in succession.

Ten minutes later, a small crowd had gathered around the booth to watch two expert sharpshooters in the match of the century. One was a white-haired, stone-eyed young man, the other a raven-haired, maniacal-looking girl.

"Take that! And that! Die, you stupid ducks! Oh, yeah!" she yelled, knocking down a couple of ducks.

"Karin, couldn't you try to be a little more dignified?" Hitsugaya asked as he calmly aimed and fired.

"No way! I'm taking these suckers down!" she replied.

"If you say so," Hitsugaya said, right before shooting the very last duck.

As Karin gaped at him in angry shock, the booth operator hastily intervened by saying, "Eh, which stuffed animal would you like to have as a prize for your lucky lady?"

"We'll take the bear with the yellow vest," Hitsugaya stated, discreetly elbowing Karin before she could slay the man with her death glare of doom.

A few moments later, they were walking past the stalls, making their way back to Yuzu and the others. Karin was pouting slightly and Hitsugaya was carrying the teddy bear under his arm.

"I so totally could have won, you know," Karin said.

"Sure, Karin, keep telling yourself that," said Hitsugaya, a small smirk still playing about his lips.

"Would you quit acting so smug?" admonished Karin in exasperation. "And give me that! What kind of guy walks around clutching a teddy bear?"

"But I've seen other guys carrying stuffed animals and things around," Hitsugaya stated in confusion.

For some odd reason, this innocent observation made Karin blush. As he stared at her in puzzlement, she smacked him on the arm and said, "Baka! That's even more reason to give me the damned stuffed animal," grabbing the teddy bear and pushing him. "And move over that way; don't walk so close to me! Haven't you noticed that the guys who are holding stuffed animals have their girlfriends plastered to the other side? Jeez, I swear you _want_ us to get labeled as a couple."

"Would that be so bad?" Hitsugaya asked her, stopping to stare at her with a serious, questioning gaze.

As she looked back mutely, a shout interrupted them.

"Karin! Hitsugaya-kun! You're back!" exclaimed a happy Yuzu.

Karin turned to greet her twin, a smile on her face, and the moment was lost. Hitsugaya sighed a little and stuffed his hands in his pockets, nodding a quick greeting to the people gathered around the table. Meanwhile, Karin presented their hard-won prize to her sister, who shrieked in delight.

"Oh, Karin! Thank you! I love it!" squealed Yuzu, holding the teddy bear tightly.

"No problem, Yuzu," Karin replied, smiling.

Yuzu turned to Hitsugaya and bowed towards him, grinning widely. "Thank you, too, Hitsugaya-kun!"

As Hitsugaya muttered something that could have been a "you're welcome," Yuzu walked over and placed the teddy bear right next to a huge, multicolored stuffed elephant wearing a baseball cap.

"Look at what Jinta-kun got me, Karin. Isn't it adorable? He won it at one of the booths," Yuzu said proudly.

"That's awesome, Yuzu," said Karin. As soon as her sister had turned away, she glared threateningly at Jinta, who just arrogantly lifted his chin and gestured at the stuffed animals, pointing out how_ he _was the clear victor in terms of size. Indeed, the elephant was nearly four feet in height, towering over the teddy bear. Karin wrinkled her nose in annoyance-she _hated_ losing. So stuck her tongue out at the red-head before walking over and sitting down next to Hitsugaya, straddling the wooden table's bench and facing him directly.

"Well, Toush," she sighed. "It looks like I just can't win today. At least this means that I can let Jinta handle the annual stuffed animal procurement from now on."

"True enough," Hitsugaya replied. "Maybe now you can concentrate on getting something for yourself instead of worrying about your sister." He nonchalantly turned away and sipped his drink, but continued to glance at her from the corner of his eye.

Karin hunched over and looked down, her fingers picking at the wooden grain of the bench. "Maybe," she conceded, knowing that they were talking about more than teddy bears and summer festivals.

"Karin," Hitsugaya said, reaching out his hand to touch hers. Before he could do so, Karin hastily stood up and flashed him an overly bright smile.

"I'm going to go get some, uh, um…some watermelons! Okay?" Karin said, right before disappearing into the crowd.

Sighing, Hitsugaya stood up and chased after her. It was a good thing her reiatsu was so distinctive. He wove through the crowd before catching up to her just as she reached a fruit-and-flower stall.

"What'll you be having today, miss?" the vendor asked in a friendly voice.

Hitsugaya walked to stand beside Karin and pulled out his wallet. "We'll be having a few slices of watermelon, please." As Karin attempted to scoot away, he stretched out his hand and ensnared hers. Continuing to keep a tight grip on her hand, he paid for the watermelons and accepted politely as the vendor offered him a free gardenia.

"For your pretty young lady," the man stated with a happy smile.

"Thanks," Hitsugaya replied, slipping the flower behind Karin's ear and slinging an arm around her shoulders. He walked away, pulling her along with him towards the river. He let go of her as soon as they were out of sight of the crowd, and just as he expected, she pulled away and crossed her arms.

"What do you think you're doing?" she yelled, stamping her foot in frustration.

Sitting down on the ground, he patted a spot next to him before replying, "What does it look like I'm doing, Karin? I'm having a slice of watermelon." So saying, he opened the bag and took out a piece of the sweet, juicy fruit, biting into it as he observed the beginnings of the sunset.

Making an irritated noise in the back of her throat, Karin grudgingly sat down beside him and pulled the bag out of his lap, taking out a slice for herself and crossly munching on it. She glanced as Hitsugaya as he started speaking.

"So…what's your answer?" he asked.

"My answer to what?" she evaded, knowing full well what he was talking about.

"Your answer to my proposal," he stated blithely.

Karin nearly choked on her watermelon. "P-p-_proposal_?" she spluttered.

"Yes, Karin," said Hitsugaya, his face dead-pan. "My proposal that you and I finally decide whether or not we'll stay friends or finally start dating."

"Oh, _that_ proposal," Karin said in understanding.

Hitsugaya chuckled at her obvious relief. "What other 'proposal' did you think I was talking about, Karin?" he asked teasingly.

"Oh, shut up, Toush," Karin muttered, biting into her watermelon. Honestly, sometimes he could be such a _pain._

After a few seconds of savoring the juicy slices, Hitsugaya wiped his mouth and resumed their conversation: "Well?" he said. "Your answer is…?"

"Would you leave it alone, Toush? We're fine as we are," Karin said decisively, looking away from his intense gaze.

"Do you really believe that?" he asked her, serious now. In response, she drew in her knees and hugged them tightly.

"…No," she whispered.

"Good," he replied, inwardly releasing a sigh of relief. He inched closer to her, encouraged when her jet-black eyes met his. "I was beginning to think that I was the only one who was tired of us being maybe friends, maybe something more."

"You're not. It's just, well...You're dead," she stated bluntly. "And I don't see how this could work out between us."

Here, he smiled and took her hand, tracing the graceful lines of her fingers with his own. This was a question he could answer:

"We can take it slow. We've_ been_ taking it slow. I don't mind waiting for you, Karin. I'll wait forever if that's what it takes. I just want to know that there's hope for us, that someday I won't have to wait anymore."

"Toushirou…" Karin said. She looked at him, her eyes wide and vulnerable and oh-so-very beautiful.

"I love you, Karin," he said, gazing directly at her. With that, he lifted a hand to cup her face and leaned in to gently kiss her.

She tasted like summer, he thought. Like summer and sunshine and breath-taking freedom. He could taste the sweet flavor of watermelon on her tongue, as well as the subtly tangy essence that was only her and her alone. Moving forward, he leaned in further to savor that essence.

After what seemed like forever, he pulled back and stared at her, smiling. She shifted closer to him, nuzzling his shoulder as he put his arm around her. Sighing, he leant back and observed the darkening horizon.

"So," he said. "I guess this means your answer is yes."

Laughing, she said, "Only if you'll let me win at sharpshooting."

"Done," he replied, pulling her in for another watermelon-flavored kiss.

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**Endnote: Sorry for not updating in forever; school's been killing me. However, I should get into complete author mode as soon as this week and my finals are over and done with.**

**Anyway, I hoped you liked this summer-and-watermelon-themed one-shot. Thought we'd try and write one where Toushirou was the one actively chasing her and pushing for a deeper relationship, and not the other way around. Thanks again to Love Guru KK for his prompt! And please review! :D **


	13. Video

**Author's Note: Hi, everybody! We'd like to thank the following people for alerting, reviewing, or adding this story to their favorites list: anna1594, Turtle-chan in Blue, meggie-moo s, Shizuku700, SilverDragonEyeCardSpiritWolf, Love Guru KK, strawberryfishcakes, Tempest Rose, ichilover3, Thelanblossom, lazyguy90, gabi1010, othchick11, Evslayer, roystealer, KittyRiotLuvsYew053, Red-Haired-Jack, ScienceAngel, Doremon, oOoHKoOo, DeathMeetsLife, kiri123, fanofanime, Ginevra1988, SomeRandomPerson053, Vilutski, fleurdefeu, amirasyaz, chiharuSAICHI, alexsstrawberry, PunkRockHolly, paws-bells, Quiet Moon, kusanagi10, ThePeopleStillSleeping, MorningStar04, LabsbyEiree, KKH913, Reiuko, kikumarubazooka, kmz, lazyflower, Cereza2000. Thank you to everyone who's read this drabble series as well. :D**

**Note: Certain pen names, namely those with a period in the middle, have been spelled wrong so that Document Manager will not erase them. We apologize to anyone who is offended by this.**

**This prompt is courtesy of Love Guru KK, so it's dedicated specially to him. :D This one is set three or four years or so in the future, post-Winter War. (If anyone would like to give me a prompt, just PM me. It'll probably take a while to get written, what with the ten or so requests I've got waiting, but it'll pop up, promise! :) **

**Summary: "Taichou, what is this?" Matsumoto asked. Toushirou cursed inwardly. "Nothing," he stated, hoping she wouldn't pry. "It's just a video."**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong solely to Tite Kubo. However, if there was an alternate universe where I do own Bleach, I will promptly give my left arm to switch with my other self. :)**

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**Chapter Thirteen: Video**

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"Taichou, what is this?" Matsumoto asked, holding up a videotape with a blank label. Curiously, she peered at it, wondering why her taichou would hide it in his bookshelves.

At his desk, Hitsugaya froze in the middle of writing a report, then hastily resumed working. Ever so casually, he replied, "Oh, that? It's a soccer game that Kurosaki taped for me. Now would you give it back and get to work instead of digging through my things? That four-foot pile of paperwork is _not_ going to magically disappear on its own."

He held out his hand without looking up from his desk, the picture of perfect nonchalance. Matsumoto ignored him completely.

"Eh? This is from Karin-chan, Taichou? Really? How sweet! Can I watch it?" Matsumoto asked eagerly, not noticing the sudden look of panic that had crossed her taichou's face. She started walking towards the common room of their division building, clearly intending to pop the video into the VCR.

"No!" Hitsugaya yelled, shunpoing to block her way. He hastily tried to make a grab for the video, but Matsumoto still had a good six inches on him, so she only had to hold it aloft and watch him futilely reach for it, glaring all the while.

"Matsumoto! I'm warning you! Give it back!" Hitsugaya yelled, obviously angry beyond belief. But in addition to his rage—could it be? Was that a hint of embarrassment she saw in his expression? And maybe just a little bit of desperation.

_Desperation?_ Matusmoto thought to herself. _Now why would he be desperate? It's just a recording of an innocent soccer game…right? It shouldn't mean that much._

_Should it?_

As her taichou made another grab for the tape, she caught his eye and shook her hand a little, as if to let it slip. Hitsugaya's teal eyes widened in horror, and he instantly stopped reaching and shouted, "Don't dare drop it, Matsumoto, or I swear I'll kill you!"

_My, my, my_, Matsumoto thought. _How intriguing._

Matsumoto stepped back a little, holding the videotape captive against her ample bosom. She and Hitsugaya eyed each other for a few seconds, her with a questioning gaze and him with a wary one. After a few seconds, she began to grin like the Cheshire Cat, a distinctly knowing look upon her face.

"Taichou…?" she said.

Hitsugaya inwardly groaned and looked away, a slight blush on his cheeks that he hoped Matusmoto would blame on his earlier shouting spell. It certainly was _not _due to mortification.

_How on earth am I going to get out of this situation?_ he thought frantically. _Wait a minute, just wait a minute. She doesn't know anything definite—yet—and I can keep it that way. Just step back, pretend indifference. And grab the damned video as soon as she lets her guard down. _

_Whatever happens, she can't watch it!_

He lifted a fisted hand to his face and gave a small but distinct cough. "I'm sorry, Matsumoto. But would you please give it back already? It's just a simple game, but Kar—Kurosaki gave that video to me, so I don't want it to get lost or anything."

There, he thought. That should do it. Anytime I even mention Karin's name, she instantly goes into one of her hyper, joyful moods.

And indeed, Matsumoto seemed to completely forget about the black, plastic rectangle in her hand as she went off into rapturous exclamations: "Taichou! You're almost admitting it! She is special to you, I knew it, I knew it! Wow! I'm so happy for you! You're finally exhibiting normal teenage emotion!"

She ran forward to envelop him in a bone-breaking hug, and Hitsugaya tried to surreptitiously recover his precious videotape. But before he could do so, Matsumoto was suddenly pushing him back and making a run for it, shouting "Sorry, taichou!" over her shoulder.

While still holding the video.

Hitsugaya chased madly after her, but it was already too late. By the time he caught up, she was in Eighth Division in front of their t.v., triumphantly holding his video and waving it around like a trophy. Kyouraku-taichou was eyeing her and shaking his head and sighing, a small smile on his face.

"See, Kyouraku-taichou! See! I told you he'd make fast progress! And this is the proof!" Matsumoto was saying.

"Ahhh, yes, Matsumoto-san. It appears you have may won our little bet," Kyouraku said. Matsumoto crowed in triumph and did a little victory dance. Meanwhile, Ukitake and Nanao, the other occupants of the room, had noticed Hitsugaya's arrival and were nodding in greeting. He gave a quick nod in return before focusing fully on the bewildering scene in front of him.

_Bet?_ Hitsugaya thought. _What bet?_

"Of course, there's no way to know if that video is sufficient proof—unless we watch it," Kyouraku stated, raising his brows in expectation.

"NO!" Hitsugaya yelled. "Absolutely not!"

"But Taaaaiiiiichou…" whined Matsumoto. "It's just a 'simple game,' isn't it? Surely there would be no problem."

There was definitely a challenging look in her eyes.

"Um, well…" Hitsugaya muttered. _Great_, he thought. _Just great. What am I going to do_ now? _I can't say no! They'll think I'm in lov—LIKE with Karin if I do that. But they think that anyway…_

_Just say 'no,' Taichou, _Matsumoto thought._ Just say 'no' so that Kyouraku-taichou can see that this video really is special to you—and so is Karin._

She laughed inwardly to herself. _And here I was, thinking I'd lose the bet. Three months, I said. Three months until my taichou would be completely infatuated with Karin-chan. Kyouraku-taichou said it would be at least six, but I knew better. Now all he has to do is say no…_

_I can always watch it later. I know where his hiding place is now._

With that happy thought, Matsumoto smiled expectantly at her flustered boss, eyes twinkling merrily. Ah, he was going to speak…

"Alright," he said.

_WHAT?_ Matsumoto thought. _WHAT?_

And here Hitsugaya pried the video from her hands and popped it into the VCR, acting as if he had no qualms about it at all.

Matusmoto closed her eyes in resignation as she waited for a soccer game to start playing. She hadn't doubted that the video would be of anything else—her taichou was a terrible liar, and it was definitely something soccer-related. But she'd figured it was special to him because it was from Karin! He'd even admitted it!

Yet now here he was, just nonchalantly showing it to everyone else as if it was nothing more than a gift from a friend and nothing more.

Ugh. She really wanted to wipe that smug look of Kyouraku-taichou's face.

Opening her eyes, she took in the on-going game and sighed before suddenly sitting up.

_Wait a minute!_ she thought. _This doesn't look like a professional soccer game…this looks like—_

A high school team playing. And right there, smack in the middle of the whole field, was one Kurosaki Karin.

Whoever was holding the camera was obviously focused solely on her. It followed her as she ran lithely down the field, the very picture of speed and grace.

It watched her as she passed the ball to her fellow players, as she cleverly stole the ball from her opponents, as she directed her team, and as she scored no less than eight goals.

It even captured her at half-time, standing by the water cooler and laughing with her friends.

It only wavered near the end, after she had won the game and was being hoisted up on the shoulders of her teammates. The person taping the game was almost certainly jumping up and down in exhilaration, cheering wildly right along with her.

Suddenly, Karin could be seen breaking off from her team and heading straight for the person with the camera. As she tackled said person in a hug, the camera dropped to the floor, and all that was seen onscreen were the bottom of the bleachers, grass, and two pairs of feet.

However, the audio was still loud and clear.

"Toushirou! Toushirou, did you see me? We won, we won!" Karin was exclaiming, high on victory and happiness.

"Yeah, I saw you," Toushirou replied, his voice slightly husky. "You were awesome."

"You really think so? I thought maybe—oh, no!" Karin said. "Your camera! I'm sorry!"

The camera was soon picked up off the floor and focused on Toushirou's face.

"Oh, good. I don't think it's broken or anything. It's still recording," Karin stated, clearly relieved. "But, you know, this thing is ancient. You need to get a digital recorder, Toush. Hey, do you think you can make me a copy of this? Even if it's on a video instead of a DVD, I'd really love to see the game through your perspective."

"Sure," replied the Toushirou onscreen as the Toushirou next to Matsumoto studiously looked away.

"Great!" Karin said. "Hope you caught most of my best moments. I had a few really awesome goals. Wait, why don't we have a closing speech or something? Come here, come here!"

Karin held the camera out so it faced her, and she smile into the lens as Toushirou walked next to her. She slung an arm around his shoulder and said, "Kurosaki Karin, soccer star, here today at your service. It is May 26, and I've played the best soccer game of my life. Right here next to me is Hitsugaya Toushirou, shinigami extraordinaire and my biggest fan. Remember our names and faces, 'cuz I guarantee that you haven't seen the last of us."

Before the screen faded to black, a single image was frozen onscreen, that of Karin grinning widely into the camera, and Toushirou staring at her, an equally wide smile on his face.

Hitsugaya stood up and turned the t.v. off, ejecting his video and holding it in his hand. He bowed stiffly to the occupants of the room, sent his fukutaichou a death glare, and stated, "See? Just a soccer game. No big deal."

With that, he exited the room, his red cheeks contradicting his words.

"Well, well," said Kyouraku shortly after he had left. "It seems like you won the bet, after all."

Matsumoto, however, was too bust plotting to hear him.

_Now how am I going to get a hold of a copy of that video? I've got to show Momo and Yuzu and Orihime! We can start setting them up on a date!_

On that cheerful note, she sped off to find her fellow matchmakers, already planning what she would wear to Karin and Toushirou's wedding.

* * *

**Endnote: **

**PokerFace: Well, you've certainly been writing a lot of fluff lately.**

**CrazyAce: So what? I LIKE fluff. *sulks in a corner***

**PokerFace: …okay. *turns and bows to readers* To those of you who are wondering, I'm making an appearance because this is the 13th drabble. **

**CrazyAce: He likes the number 13. **

**PokerFace: *nods***

**CrazyAce: It means we have...88 drabbles to go?**

**PokerFace: Yes. Anyway, please review and tell us what you think. *bows and exits abruptly***

**CrazyAce: *sigh* I'd better go after him. See you later, my lovely readers!**


	14. Sister

**Author's Note: Hi, everybody! We're so sorry to have been gone for so long, and we hope you forgive us. Vacations and summer school projects and computer meltdowns kind of held us up… But we just want to say THANK YOU! **_**Frozen Moments **_**has over a hundred reviews! We are quite frankly amazed and dazed and extremely grateful! Please continue to support us!**

**We'd like to dedicate this installment to Ability Writer KK, for being the 100****th**** reviewer as well as providing the prompt, and to Vilutski, for being the 101****st**** reviewer! **

**We'd like to thank the following people for alerting, reviewing, or adding this story to their favorites list: anna1594, Turtle-chan in Blue, meggie-moo s, Shizuku700, SilverDragonEyeCardSpiritWolf, Ability Writer KK, strawberryfishcakes, Tempest Rose, ichilover3, Thelanblossom, lazyguy90, gabi1010, othchick11, Evslayer, roystealer, KittyRiotLuvsYew053, Red-Haired-Jack, ScienceAngel, Doremon, oOoHKoOo, DeathMeetsLife, kiri123, fanofanime, Ginevra1988, SomeRandomPerson053, Vilutski, fleurdefeu, amirasyaz, chiharuSAICHI, alexsstrawberry, PunkRockHolly, paws-bells, Quiet Moon, kusanagi10, ThePeopleStillSleeping, MorningStar04, LabsbyEiree, KKH913, Reiuko, kikumarubazooka, kmz, lazyflower, Theoracle-san, bleach-gurl-katie, myrrdinowl, Lost-Lullabies, FuyuKiba, KazeNoSakura, soulful100, MisplacedWit, PhelpstwinsandElftwins, misskarolinax, PersephoneWhitlockCullen, Photophobic, puma1sunfire, Sayo-chan64, SkyDancer101, whitewolf207, Cereza2000, Ellardis Merithdire, rimiish, bjacobs101, grayqueen, -xox. Sinnae .xox-, Queen Daenerys, Vampqueen27, Mew Angels Crystal Tears, and KairiOliver. (If we've forgotten you, tell us!) Thank you to everyone who's read this drabble series as well. :D**

**Note: Certain pen names, namely those with a period in the middle, have been spelled wrong so that Document Manager will not erase them. We apologize to anyone who is offended by this.**

**This prompt is courtesy of Ability Writer KK, and is set ten or twelve years or so in the future, post-Winter War. (If anyone would like to give me a prompt, just PM me. It'll probably take a while to get written, what with the ten or so requests I've got waiting, but it'll pop up, promise! :) **

**Summary: Ichigo couldn't believe his eyes. The midget was cheating on his little sister with his other little sister!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong solely to Tite Kubo. However, if there was an alternate universe where I do own Bleach, I will promptly give my left arm to switch with my other self. :)**

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen: Sister**

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**Part One: Where Ichigo Sets a Restaurant on Fire**

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Sometimes, Ichigo couldn't understand his sisters at all.

Take their choice of boyfriends, for example. Yuzu was over the moon for some red-headed, spiky-haired braggart who was mostly raised by _Urahara_, for crying out loud! That last fact alone had Ichigo questioning her sanity. But at least the little twerp was properly terrified by Ichigo's threats of castration and unending pain if he so much as made Yuzu _frown_. The expression on Jinta's face the first time Ichigo gave him the "hurt-her-and-you-don't-want-know-what-I'll-do-to-you" talk (Isshin was obviously too eager for grandchildren to handle it) was still one of Ichigo's most treasured memories.

Ah, good times, good times.

Karin's boyfriend, on the other hand…

Ichigo scowled, remembering Toushirou's totally unfazed, almost _bored_ expression when Ichigo was giving him the same talk. Well, it was only natural, he supposed. Toushirou was a taichou of the Gotei 13 and had a bankai of his own—besides, Karin herself could probably beat him up if he made her cry. But still. The midget didn't even have the decency to pay attention while Ichigo was talking! The only time the look on his face had changed was when Karin had run down the stairs, ready for their date.

For the briefest of seconds, Ichigo would've sworn he was _smiling_.

So he'd grudgingly accepted Toushirou's place as Karin's significant other, and Jinta's place as Yuzu's. Didn't mean he was happy about it, but his sisters were, and that's what mattered. So far, both relationships had withstood the test of time, and he was fully expecting Jinta, at least, to propose, since Yuzu had always said she wanted to be married by the time she was twenty-five, and she was now twenty-four. Karin and Toushirou didn't appear to be in any hurry, however, much to Isshin's dismay. Ichigo was just fine with it, and most days ignored his father's laments and his sisters' love lives.

On days like today, however, his sister's actions mystified him.

It was December 21st, the day right after Toushirou's birthday. Everybody was back in Karakura for the holidays, and everybody was still slightly drunk from the birthday bash last night. There had been lots of food (including a ten-layer birthday cake)…and way too much drinking…and dancing…and games involving mistletoe, pantyhose, and reindeer hats…which was right around the time that Ichigo's brain gave up remembering anything. However, he did manage to recall an odd little whispered conference between Toushirou and Yuzu, taking place just before he passed out. His honey-haired sister had winked at the frigid shinigami, and said something to the effect of "Can't wait to tell everyone," and "Momo and I will finally be sisters."

It was that last sentence that now contributed to Ichigo's raging hangover headache. Groaning, he leaned against the balcony railing, breathing in the late morning air and blearily trying to piece together the clues. From what he could gather, it looked like Toushirou _was_ in a hurry after all, and Isshin would probably soon get his wish: walking one of his daughters down the aisle.

Ichigo scowled at that thought, and made a mental note to ask Toushirou his intentions. The little twerp ought to at least ask him for Karin's hand in marriage before blabbing the news to everyone else, right? And why on earth hadn't Karin told him, huh? Wasn't he her big brother? Didn't he have a right to know that his little sister was engaged?

Giving another sigh, Ichigo decided not to worry about it for now, and was going to head back into his and Orihime's house and make his wife some breakfast…okay, maybe brunch would be a better term, seeing as it was nearly noon. For himself, a cup of strong, black coffee sounded great…

Hey, wasn't that Toushirou walking down the street?

Ichigo paused in mid-thought, watching his friend look furtively around before heading in the direction of a nearby park. Ichigo nearly called out a greeting, but stopped himself, feeling slightly suspicious. Going inside and leaving a note for Orihime saying he was off for a walk, Ichigo quickly walked to the park, pulling a baseball cap on to hide his bright orange hair. It wouldn't do for his _maybe_ future brother-in-law to catch him spying—ahem, cough, _innocently observing_.

At the park, hiding in behind the trunk of a convenient tree, Ichigo peered at his target. There Toushirou was, nervously sitting on a bench and apparently waiting for somebody, if the way he constantly looked around was any indication. Ichigo wondered briefly who on earth the shinigami taichou was going to meet, when his little sister's voice called out happily.

"Toushirou!" cried Yuzu. Dressed in a ruffled white blouse and a pretty yellow skirt, Ichigo's youngest sister made her way to Toushirou and promptly hugged him, standing up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. The normally frigid taichou hugged her back before anxiously drawing back and looking behind her.

"Are you sure Karin doesn't know about this?" he said.

"Of course not, silly! It's just me and you today. Now let's get going, the restaurant will give our reservation away," Yuzu stated impatiently.

At his hiding place, Ichigo nearly had a heart attack. Toushirou was going on a date with Yuzu? WTF? Had the world gone mad?

In a daze, he followed the pair to a high-class restaurant, Black Noir, which had just opened the week before and was already catering to a significant amount of people. Yuzu and Toushirou walked right past the long line of waiting customers and entered the restaurant. Toushirou, ever the gentleman, opened the door for her and gave a little bow. To Ichigo's relief, they were seated at a table by the window, so he ensconced himself in a bench across the street and promptly pulled out a pair of binoculars (he'd_ told _Renji they'd come in handy someday).

For the next hour, he observed the couple talk and eat and laugh and generally act lovey-dovey. Yuzu looked like she was going to bounce out of her seat in excitement, and Toushirou looked nervous but happy. He even had a goofy smile on his face!

Ichigo was certain he was going to throw up.

What was _wrong_ with them? How could they do this to Karin? Wasn't that white-haired midget wildly in love with her? And Yuzu! Yuzu was her twin! Ichigo was ready to turn that bastard into mulch for cheating on his little sister, but this plan posed some problems as the idiot was cheating on her with his _other_ little sister.

As Ichigo agonized over this moral dilemma (beat him up now or tell Karin and watch her beat him up later...but what about Yuzu...?), he noticed Yuzu leaning forward expectantly. Hitsugaya was putting his hand in his pocket and...he had a small black box! A jewelry case! That could only mean one thing...

The midget was proposing! To the wrong girl!

"Noooo!" Ichigo cried out. Hastily exiting his body and going into shinigami form, he ran into the restaurant and tackled Toushirou, who dropped the ring onto the table and went flying.

Unfortunately, he crashed into a waiter who was holding aloft a birthday cake and a fancy torch to light the candles. The torch sailed in a graceful arc and landed in some nearby (and very flammable) curtains. Chaos ensued as everyone ran for the doors.

Outside as the fire fighters arrived, a sheepish but defiant Ichigo faced an irate Yuzu and an enraged Toushirou.

"Kurosaki..." the latter ground out. "What the _hell do you THINK YOU'RE DOING?"_

"What am I doing? What are _you_ doing, Toushirou?" yelled Ichigo. "You're cheating on Karin with Yuzu! You stupid bastard! How dare you! All I did was burn down a building. What you're doing is breaking Karin's heart!" Turning to Yuzu, he continued yelling accusations, "And you! Okay, I understand why you might want to break up with Jinta, but going after Karin's boyfriend is just...is just...it's not like you, that's all I'm saying!"

"Onii-chan!" Yuzu said. "I'm not cheating on Jinta! And Toushirou's not cheating on Karin!"

"Oh, yeah?" Ichigo shot back. "Then what was up with the proposal?"

Yuzu's arm smacked into Toushirou as he ran forward, obviously intent on murdering Ichigo. Pouting at her brother, she said, "Onii-chan, Toushirou-kun was just asking me my opinion on whether or not Karin would think the restaurant was romantic, and also if she would like the ring." Turning to Toushirou, she smiled and said, "From what I saw of it, I think it's perfect for her. She'll love it!"

At this point, Ichigo wished the ground would swallow him up. So much for his mad detective skills. Taking a sudden interest in his sandal-clad feet, he began muttering an apology when Toushirou apparently went crazy and ran into the burning building.

"Onii-chan! Stop him!" cried Yuzu. She needn't have bothered. Ichigo was already running after the frantic taichou.

_The things I do for my sisters_, he thought.

**...**

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**Part Two: Where Toushirou Slowly Loses His Sanity**

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This was definitely the most stressful week of Hitsugaya Toushirou's life. After all, it isn't every day that you decide to propose to the love of your life.

It hadn't been months in the planning or anything, and it wasn't a calculated decision that involved weighing the pros and cons, like so many other of his choices. It was just a simple realization that took place one morning, waking up beside her and seeing her smile into his eyes. She'd lazily stretched and murmured quietly, "I could be with you every day of my life and still never get enough."

His heart had stopped. And he'd known that that statement was true for him as well, and that he wanted each and every day of his existence to start and end with her beside him. It was that simple.

What wasn't so simple was informing her of his desire to marry her. Of course, both of them knew they'd get married someday, but it wasn't really something they'd ever discussed. They'd never _needed_ to discuss it before. And Toushirou realized he had no clue how to start the conversation. He couldn't just ask her point-blank to marry him, at least not if he wanted her to say yes. It had to be done properly, with candlelight and music and heartfelt declarations of everlasting love. And a ring.

The problem was, he wasn't sure if he could actually pull off any of that stuff. It just wasn't _him_. He disliked candlelight in general (too much flickering to effectively read paperwork by). He didn't think Karin would appreciate being serenaded by moonlight (they'd always laughed together at the lovesick suitors who'd sing off-key in movies). He'd never actually used more than three words when he told her how he felt about her (he figured if his actions didn't make it clear, nothing would). And the only piece of jewelry he'd ever bought her was a jade dragon pendant she'd seen in a shop window and mentioned she'd liked (well, she'd said it reminded her of him, but that was the same thing).

Obviously, he was going to need some assistance.

So, on Monday, he put his plan into motion and sent Matsumoto a memo, asking for her opinion on diamond rings. Ten minutes later, he'd been surrounded by an ecstatic trio of women consisting of his fukutaichou, his future sister-in-law (Kurosaki Orihime had been visiting for the day), and his adopted sister, Momo. They'd figured out his intentions (_H__ow _was still a mystery. Diamond rings didn't automatically equal engagements, did they?) and were hell-bent on assisting him in any way possible, whether he wanted them to or not.

So he'd been pulled in a dozen different directions as all three women pointed out their ideal choices. Orihime suggested a simple gold band with a medium-sized stone. Momo's favorite was a ring with a heart-shaped, pink diamond. Matsumoto picked out a bunch of different rings, steadily increasing the size of the diamond before eventually settling on one with a rock the size of her fist.

"Absolutely not," he said stubbornly.

"But, Taichou!" his subordinate had pouted. "Every girl wants to show off the fact that she's taken, and this ring says it all."

"What that ring says is 'Mug me!' Karin will hate it," Toushirou replied impatiently, and continued searching.

After nearly two hours in the store, he settled on a ring. The oval diamond, surrounded by small, exquisitely-cut amethysts and aquamarines, adorned a narrow platinum band. It was perfect.

"Oh, Shiro-chan," breathed Momo. "Karin will love it."

The week passed by pretty quickly after that.

On Tuesday, he visited his grandmother and nervously drank tea with her before blurting out his intentions. She'd laughed and patted him affectionately on the arm, saying how Karin would make a fine wife, and even offered her old lace veil to use in the wedding.

On Wednesday, he prepared himself for certain torture, but nevertheless made his way to the Kurosaki Clinic to ask Isshin for his daughter's hand in marriage. He barely managed to escape with his life, and left the house feeling like his ears were burning from all of Isshin's helpful advice on the best way to procreate.

On Thursday, he visited every high-class restaurant in Karakura before settling on Black Noir as the perfect blend between his definition of elegance and Karin's requirements for style. He pulled a couple of strings and paid a small fortune to get a reservation for lunch on Saturday and dinner on Sunday.

On Friday, he endured his birthday party, which was really just an excuse for his many friends to get drunk. He knocked back a few drinks himself and danced most of the night away with Karin. Still, he managed to hold a whispered conversation with Yuzu and enlisted her aid. The next day, he'd show her the restaurant and the ring, and see if she thought Karin would like it. After all, who'd know better what would make Karin happy than her twin?

On Saturday, he watched his plans go up in flames. Literally.

He didn't understand it. One minute, he was shyly showing Yuzu the engagement ring he'd picked out, and the next he was getting attacked by an enraged Ichigo. After that, all hell broke loose.

Outside, he barely managed to keep from skewering the orange-haired idiot as he accused him of cheating on Karin! As if he'd ever wanted anyone besides her! Incensed, Toushirou slowly counted to ten as Yuzu explained the situation to her moron of a brother. At the end, she'd turned to give her opinion to him.

Toushirou had sighed, partly in relief because she approved of the ring, and partly in regret because the perfect restaurant was burning to the ground as they spoke. Where was he going to propose to Karin now? Toushirou felt his carefully laid plans for a romantic proposal crumble to pieces. It was all Ichigo's damn fault! He turned to glare at his future brother-in-law, who was now guiltily averting his gaze and mumbling an apology. Putting his hands in his pockets, he began to give a scathing reply when he noticed something very, very wrong.

His pockets were empty.

The ring was gone.

Before he knew what he was doing, he was already running through the burning doors. Barely noticing the flames, he frantically searched through the rubble that was the window table. He had to find it! He had to! His hand closed around a small, square case. Suddenly, he could breathe again...except he couldn't, because there wasn't any air. Coughing, he made his way towards the exit, his arm stretched out blindly.

An unexpected form picked him up and threw him over a black-clad shoulder, and swiftly headed outside. Within minutes he was gulping in lungfuls of cool, evening air, Yuzu and a couple of bystanders peering down at him in concern.

"Are you alright, Toushirou-kun?" asked Yuzu anxiously. Toushirou managed to nod in reply. He really had to talk to Urahara about increasing the strength of gigais.

"He just ran in there!" one bystander said.

"Yeah! Like he was possessed or something," another contributed.

"And then an explosion threw him out again! He flew through the air!" one exclaimed in excitement.

Toushirou realized that his savior was probably Ichigo in shinigami form, which explained why "an explosion" carried him through the door and dumped him on the sidewalk. He supposed he should be grateful, but couldn't get past the fact that it was Ichigo's fault he was in a burning building in the first place. Honestly, if he was anyone's brother but Karin...

Yuzu helped him sit up and made him sip from a bottle of water. "Ichigo's body was found across the street, so he had to go chase the ambulance down. He should be back any moment. Oh, here's the ring," she said, pressing the singed box into his hand.

Opening it up to find the ring unharmed, Toushirou breathed a sigh of relief. Gazing at the sparkling symbol of his commitment catching the light of the flames, he smiled a little as an idea occurred to him, a glowing ember found in the ashes of his plans.

Maybe he should thank Ichigo after all.

**...**

**...**

**...**

**Part Three: Where Karin Watches the Fireworks Start**

**...**

**...**

**...**

Karin suspected there was something going on with her boyfriend. Something odd.

For that matter, there was something wrong with her father, her brother, her brother's wife, and her sister, too. They all seemed to be...expecting...something, but she didn't know what. All she knew was that all the members of her family, minus Ichigo, wore constant maniacal grins around her. Ichigo, on the other hand, wore a constant scowl, but really that was nothing new.

It had all started the day after Toushirou's birthday. She'd been hanging out with Hime-nee when Ichigo, Yuzu, and Toushirou had walked through the door, wearing clothes that smelled like smoke. Hime-nee had instantly stood up and began fussing over them. Karin had simply raised a brow at her boyfriend, silently asking what the hell had happened.

"There was a fire," he stated. "Yuzu and I were having lunch at that new restaurant when it burned down."

"And?" she replied.

"And your brother," he continued, glaring at the offending shinigami, "started it. He also managed to get his body hospitalized _again_."

That wasn't anything out of the ordinary, as Ichigo destroying property and leaving his body dead on the sidewalk wasn't anything new. They even had a routine now. Ishida Ryuuken would drop Ichigo's gigai off at the clinic, explaining Ichigo's apparently lifeless state to various paramedics by spreading the rumor that Isshin had dropped Ichigo on the head when he was a baby, causing him to develop extreme narcolepsy and a split personality disorder, aka Kon.

Still, usually Ichigo managed to leave Yuzu out of it, and Toushirou was smart enough to avoid him when on a rampage, so this little escapade had a decidedly suspicious hint about it. Karin shrugged it off with her usual aplomb, and decided it was all her brother's fault. Toushirou probably didn't want to talk about it because Ichigo had done something crazy and embarrassing like juggling torches.

However, as the days went by and the odd behavior continued to pile up, Karin knew _something_ was in the works. But when she pressed Toushirou for more information, he merely deflected her questions or told her that he didn't know anything.

Honestly, it was enough to make a girl crazy. Toushirou hadn't acted this mysterious (yet somehow nervous and anticipatory) since the first time they'd been on a date.

She finally got her answer on New Year's Eve. Toushirou had woken her up with a sweet smile and an even sweeter kiss, right before laying a tray of her favorite chocolate waffles across her lap. "Breakfast in bed?" she'd asked.

"Yeah. I was planning on making today special, New Year's Eve and all," he'd said, running his hand through his snow-white hair in that familiar gesture of uncertainty that just melted her heart. So she'd given him another kiss and even deigned to share her waffles with him, a true act of love if there ever was one. Toushirou made the best waffles in the world.

Afterwards, he'd grabbed the brand-new soccer ball he'd given her for Christmas, saying they ought to break it in. Why not head over to the old field where they'd played their first game? It was New Year's; nobody would be there. Laughing at his eagerness, she'd shrugged and said okay. They spent the next three hours kicking the ball around, playing a little one-on-one. She'd stuck her tongue out at him when he'd gone easy on her, glared at him when he'd subsequently scored three goals, and shrieked as he'd tackled her instead of the ball.

"What's up with you today?" she asked, breathless as they sat side by side on the grass. "You seem so happy."

Grinning at her cheekily, he replied, "What do you mean? I'm always happy when I'm around you."

Though she'd rolled her eyes and shook her head, she still couldn't helped but be pleased by that remark.

For lunch, he surprised her yet again by pulling a picnic basket from behind a tree and spreading out a blue-and-white checkered cloth for them to sit on. For dessert, he took her to the little ice cream shop where they'd had their first date, and ordered a vanilla milkshake for them to share. And on their way back home, he'd insisted they go the long route, ending up by their railing, where he'd stopped to lean against it, tugging her close so they could watch the sunset together.

"It's really beautiful, isn't it?" she said.

"Yeah," he answered, looking directly at her. "Most beautiful one I've ever seen."

Blushing a little (even after all these years, it surprised her to realize he thought her beautiful), she tried to cover her embarrassment by arching her brow and asking, "You digging up any more old memories?"

"No. I'd rather make some new ones," he replied, leaning in to steal a kiss.

By the time they got home, she'd figured it out.

"Is this why you've been acting so weird lately? You were planning today?" she asked.

"Kind of," he answered. "Originally we'd be heading out right now to eat a fancy dinner at Black Noir, but Ichigo burned it down, so I had to improvise."

"Oh!" she laughed. "So that's why you were so mad at him a few weeks back. And what do you mean by improvise?"

"I mean this," he said as he tugged her up the stairs to the roof of the house, where a simple candlelit dinner awaited them.

"No way," she breathed. "You did this? Why?"

"I told you, it's New Year's. The death of the year, the birth of the next. I thought it was pretty appropriate," he said mysteriously.

"I'll take your word for it," Karin replied as she sat down, a smile on her face as she looked at him. Toushirou was trying to be romantic—_And succeeding_, she thought.

After he'd cleared the table and pushed it aside (he insisted on doing it by himself), they'd sat on the roof to watch the fireworks mingle with the stars.

"Karin...?" Toushirou asked.

"Hmmm?" she said, busy watching the dazzling display, before a certain glint cupped in Toushirou's hand caught her eye.

It was a diamond ring, reflecting the glow of the fireworks.

Speechless, she stared at it as the seconds ticked quietly by.

"Karin," Toushirou said. "Will you marry me?"

Her answer was to throw her arms around him and kiss him senseless. Toushirou could accept that. (And he didn't even need to give her that long speech he'd memorized. Whoever said words were the best way to show your love was obviously an idiot, or maybe just a bad kisser, he thought fuzzily).

The next day, Karin was showing off her ring to Yuzu and Orihime at the Kurosaki family dinner, and recounting the entire day leading up to the proposal.

"Wow," Yuzu said softly. "That's really romantic." She sighed a little wistfully before pointedly glancing at Jinta. "I guess this means we won't be having that double wedding, after all. You know, the one we planned as kids?'

Karin and Toushirou merely exchanged grins. "I don't know, Yuzu. As your sister, I feel confident that you can still pull it off," she replied, winking at her fiancé. "After all," she continued, "didn't Ichigo see someone presenting you with a diamond ring a few weeks back?"

Karin had to admit it was cruel of her, but the look of panic on Jinta's face was priceless. She's leave it to Yuzu to decide if to tell him that the diamond ring was the one Toushirou was currently running his thumb over as they held hands.

_Yeah_, she thought as she laid her head against his shoulder. _Life is pretty much perfect._

* * *

**Endnote: Again, so sorry for the long absence! We hope that the length of this one-shot made it up to you a little bit. *smiling hopefully***

**Well, thank you for reading, and please review!**


	15. Nosebleed

**Author's Note: Hi, everybody! We're back with yet another one-shot (and so long, too)! Hope you don't mind. ;)**

**We'd like to thank the following people for alerting, reviewing, or adding this story to their favorites list: anna1594, Turtle-chan in Blue, meggie-moo s, Shizuku700, SilverDragonEyeCardSpiritWolf, Ability Writer KK, strawberryfishcakes, Tempest Rose, ichilover3, Thelanblossom, lazyguy90, gabi1010, othchick11, Evslayer, roystealer, KittyRiotLuvsYew053, Red-Haired-Jack, ScienceAngel, Doremon, oOoHKoOo, DeathMeetsLife, kiri123, fanofanime, Ginevra1988, SomeRandomPerson053, Vilutski, fleurdefeu, amirasyaz, chiharuSAICHI, alexsstrawberry, PunkRockHolly, paws-bells, Quiet Moon, kusanagi10, ThePeopleStillSleeping, MorningStar04, LabsbyEiree, KKH913, Reiuko, kikumarubazooka, kmz, lazyflower, Theoracle-san, bleach-gurl-katie, myrrdinowl, Lost-Lullabies, FuyuKiba, KazeNoSakura, soulful100, MisplacedWit, PhelpstwinsandElftwins, misskarolinax, PersephoneWhitlockCullen, Photophobic, puma1sunfire, Sayo-chan64, SkyDancer101, whitewolf207, Cereza2000, Ellardis Merithdire, rimiish, bjacobs101, grayqueen, -xox. Sinnae .xox-, Queen Daenerys, Vampqueen27, Mew Angels Crystal Tears, KairiOliver, elarhy, crayontesla, RosieLEK, WickedWitchVictoria, Gritsapot2293, Ryfee, and Rose Zaki. (If we've forgotten you, tell us!) Thank you to everyone who's read this drabble series as well. :D**

**Note: Certain pen names, namely those with a period in the middle, have been spelled wrong so that Document Manager will not erase them. We apologize to anyone who is offended by this.**

**This prompt is courtesy of Ability Writer KK, so it's dedicated especially to him. It is set five years or so in the future, post-Winter War. Warning: there will be blood. And perverted-ness. :D (If anyone would like to give me a prompt, just PM me. It'll probably take a while to get written, what with the ten or so requests I've got waiting, but it'll pop up, promise! :) **

**Summary: "What are you DOING, Karin?" he asked in panic. "Why, Taichou, I'm seducing you!" she answered with a grin.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong solely to Tite Kubo. However, I do own the official bootleg now, and if there was an alternate universe where I do own Bleach, I will promptly give my left arm to switch with my other self. :)**

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**Chapter Fifteen: Nosebleed**

* * *

"Ne, Karin-chan, thanks for helping me out!" gushed Matsumoto enthusiastically.

"No problem," replied the raven-haired soccer player. The human teenager and the rest of her family were currently on one of their frequent visits to Soul Society, and, true to form, Karin headed straight for the Tenth Division office. On her way there, she'd encountered Matsumoto running a "super-duper, _extra _important!" errand, and decided to accompany her. She could always see Toushirou later. Looking around, her arms folded behind her head, she asked casually, "Where are we going again?"

"Oh, just the Twelfth Division," Matsumoto replied, idly waving a slip of paper around. "I'm dropping off this urgent memo."

"Really? What for?" Karin said, grabbing the paper. She was curious to see what kind of information Matsumoto was delivering. It had to be important, if she couldn't send a subordinate to do it…

"Hey! That's top-secret!" Matsumoto exclaimed. Karin dodged her attempts to reclaim the paper and read it, her eyebrows shooting up in surprise.

"Matsumoto, since when is a request for eight bottles of vintage saké classified as either 'top-secret' or 'urgent'?" Karin inquired.

"Ever since last week, when Taichou found two more of my secret stashes," Matsumoto replied.

"Which means you're probably down to a dozen bottles as opposed to two dozen, right?" Karin stated wryly.

"You got it, Karin-chan!" Matsumoto said. "Besides, there's a huge pile of paperwork waiting for me back at the office, and this is quite a convenient and easy way to avoid it."

Karin sighed and shook her head. She could understand why Toushirou blew up so easily at his fukutaichou. Still, watching Matsumoto avoid paperwork was fun. Might as well go along with her.

Upon reaching the Twelfth Division, Matsumoto made a beeline straight for Akon, and Karin was left to her own devices. She was quite frankly impressed with the size of the research facilities, and noted the killer screens (if only she'd brought a soccer vid along…). There was also an abundance of sleek metal, electronic whirring, and oddly glowing jars of…well, what she _hoped _were eyes. There were a lot of researchers scurrying around as well, dressed in white lab coats only a few shades lighter than their skin. Honestly, did these people never see sun? Maybe they were vampires…their captain could have infected them…

A timid voice jolted her out of her musings. "Umm, would you like some refreshments?"

"Huh? Oh, sure," Karin replied, taking a glass of water from a young man with a short pigtail above his forehead. Karin thought it looked like an antennae.

"Perhaps you would like to sit down?" he asked, then promptly ushered her over to a little cluster of over-sized Jell-O chairs. Karin sat down on one and bounced a little, laughing as it _boinged_ gently. The Twelfth Division member sat opposite her and picked up a plate of cookies. "Want one?" he asked, holding out the plate to her. She took one and examined it, prompting him to say, "Don't worry, it's not poisoned. At least…well…I'm sure this batch isn't. It's from my personal stash. Um, of sweets I mean. I just love sweets. How about you?"

Karin noticed with amusement how he'd started off stuttering and nervous, but ended up excited and talkative, like a little kid. She took a bite of the cookie before replying. "Well, they're good to eat. Never had to be worried about poison before, though."

"Ah, well, that's only if Kurotsuchi-taichou is around…" the young man said nervously. "Um, is it correct to assume that you are from the Living World? You are Kurosaki Karin, yes?"

"Yes. And you are…?" Karin asked.

"Oh! Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Tsubokura Rin. Eh, ah…Most people call me Rin-chan…" he trailed off nervously. "I, um, have a favor to ask you."

"Sure, Rin-chan. What do you want?" she asked.

"Um, if it would not be too much trouble…would you pleaseplease_please_ bring sweets with you the next time you come?" Rin burst out. "I'll pay you! Give you anything you want!"

"Give her anything she wants, eh?" asked Matsumoto, suddenly appearing next to them. "Would that include saké?"

"Yes!" Rin squeaked. "I mean, no! I don't have any saké. Unless you want the experimental version, which turns you purple and gives you a giant hangover afterwards."

"Oh," Matsumoto said, obviously disappointed. Sighing, she sat down on a Jell-O chair and morosely bit into a cookie. "Guess that means I'll have to—"

Rin shrieked in shock as both Matsumoto and Karin fainted and began to convulse.

"Rin-chan, where the hell did you put the budget reports?" Akon asked, walking over. "And where is—Rin-chan!"

"I-I-I didn't d-d-do anything!" Rin managed to say. Almost as a nervous reflex, he began to put the cookie he was holding into his mouth. Akon, however, grabbed said cookie and threw it across the room.

"Akon-san!" Rin wailed. "My coooookiiieeee!" He wailed louder as Akon dumped the rest of the cookies on the floor and stomped on them. "What did my innocent cookies ever do to you?"

"I'm not worried about what they did to me—I'm worried about what they did to those two," Akon said, jerking a thumb at Matsumoto and Karin.

"But-but—I got them out of my secret stash!" Tsubokura cried out.

"The secret stash under Console Number Three that _everybody _knows about?" Akon asked.

"How'd you find out?" Rin asked, surprised.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe from the way you furtively look around before emerging from under the table with icing around your mouth?" Akon replied sarcastically. "Taichou must have slipped something into those cookies. You know he's been running out of volunteers lately."

"Oh, no! What are we going to do?" Rin wailed. "What if it was poison? What if they _die_? We're going to get chopped into pieces!"

"That's only if Kurosaki finds us first," Akon muttered darkly. "If Hitsugaya-taichou gets us, we'll spend eternity as ice cubes." He grabbed Matsumoto's arm. "Here, she's still got a pulse. You better send a Hell Butterfly to Fourth Division before it's too late."

Matsumoto gave a sudden groan.

"They're alive! They're alive!" Rin shouted in relief. "We're not going to die!"

"Rin-chan…?" mumbled Matsumoto. "Wha' happened?"

"I'm sorry, Matsumoto-fukutaichou! It was all my fault!" said Rin, wringing his hands and cringing. "Please don't let me die! I don't want to be an ice cube! I'll get you that sake, promise!"

"Who're you calling fukutaichou, Rin-chan?" Matsumoto replied.

Akon and Rin looked at each other in mild panic.

"She has amnesia!" whispered Rin.

"This is not good…" Akon muttered. "Alright, it's better than death, but still…Matsumoto, what exactly can you remember?"

"I remember that I'm not Matsumoto," grumbled Matsumoto, sitting up. "Geez, were the cookies really poisoned? If you wanted me to bring you sweets, Rin-chan, then this wasn't exactly the best move."

"M-Matsumoto-fukutaichou…?" asked Rin in growing confusion.

"Stop calling me that! I told you already, I'm not Matsumoto! I'm Karin!" she yelled, thumping her chest with her fist. Only…

"Oh my God," said Karin in horror. "What have you _done_ to me? These were _not_ there before!"

"Karin-chan?" said Karin's body. "Whasa matter? Need me to beat some'ody up?" Sitting up, she continued, "Whoa, everything feels so much _lighter_. Wha' hap'ned to me? Am I drunk?"

Akon and Rin stared at each other. "Uh-oh…"

Karin and Matsumoto took one look at each other before they started screaming.

Five minutes later, Karin (in Matsumoto's body) had Akon in a headlock, and Matsumoto (in Karin's body) had both hands around Rin's neck.

"Turn us back! Turn us back right now, or somebody dies!" threatened Karin.

"Stop…can't breathe," wheezed Akon.

"Can't breathe! _I_ can't breathe, you moron! Not with these _things_ crushing my lungs!" screamed Karin. "How the hell am I supposed walk without falling over?"

"Hey!" said Matsumoto. "Those are my girls you're talking about! And, well, try leaning backwards to compensate. Stand up straight. Thrust your hips out more, that helps, too," Matsumoto muttered, letting go of Rin to demonstrate the proper posture.

Matsumoto's stance in Karin's body was not a pretty sight.

"Ugh," said Matsumoto, catching sight of herself in a mirror. "This body is so…so…straight. Hmmm, well, it's actually pretty thin, too, and quite easy to move in, but still! I'm about a foot shorter!"

"Oh, yeah?" said Karin. "Well, I'm going to have guys ogling me from sun-up 'til sun-down! And I'm already feeling withdrawal symptoms from lack of saké."

"See?" Matsumoto said. "I _need_ saké!"

"Still dying," hissed Akon.

"Oh, sorry," said Karin, letting him go. "Now, are you going to give us our bodies back?"

"Can't," said Akon, then continued frantically as Karin stepped back towards him. "No! Stay away! I'm serious; we can't do anything!"

"Akon-san is right," Rin piped up. "Only Kurotsuchi-taichou would have the antidote, if there was one. Most likely, you'll switch back after 24 hours. That's what usually happens. Until then, you're stuck—unless you want to ask our taichou for help."

All four of them shuddered, and looked around nervously. Akon and Rin then hastily shoved them out of the research center, and promised not to tell anyone if they wouldn't. Rin also gave Karin a hopeful smile, and Karin couldn't help sighing and agreeing to bring him some sweets the next time she visited. It wasn't entirely his fault she was stuck in this situation—Toushirou had warned her never to eat anything from Twelfth Division.

"But what am I supposed to do?" said Karin once they were outside. "I don't have to go home for two days, but this is still a problem. Yuzu's going to freak out! And Goat-chin—!" Karin's, well, Matsumoto's eyes widened in horror. She ran over to her body and shook it.

"Geez, I'm really tall, aren't I?" muttered Matsumoto. "And stop that, Karin-chan!"

"We. Are. Not. Telling. My. FATHER. ANYTHING!" screamed Karin.

"Okay, okay," said Matsumoto, dusting herself off. "Why not exactly?"

"Because! He'll probably use this as an excuse to let out my inner feminine side, and have you dress up in girly clothes! Or other things! And he'll take pictures and blackmail me for the rest of my life!" said Karin. "And don't say you wouldn't help him, because you would!"

"Hmmm, that doesn't sound that bad at all," replied Matsumoto speculatively.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Karin said. "Not unless you want me to tell Toushirou _exactly_ what you did with last month's budget report."

Matsumoto paled. "You wouldn't."

"I would," said Karin, planting her fists on much wider hips and looking down at her body.

"Fine," said Matsumoto, sulking. "But you owe me."

"No problem," said Karin. "In exchange for you pretending to be me, and doing absolutely _nothing _I wouldn't do, I'll finish some of your paperwork for you? Deal?"

"Yes!" Matsumoto exclaimed. "Wait, can you do paperwork?"

"Please, it's mostly signing stuff and going over totals, right? Besides, listening to Toushirou rant about it gives me a pretty good idea of what to do," Karin said.

"Okay," said Matsumoto, thinking their plan through. "And it's just 24 hours. You could probably just hole yourself up in the office and take a nap. If you have a sake bottle next to you, none of my subordinates will bother you. Just flirt and gossip a little and you'll be fine."

"And all you need to do is make fun of Ichi-nii, punch Goat-chin every time you see him, and go along with whatever Yuzu says, unless it's shopping, in which case you'd better just stick to holding the bags," Karin instructed.

"Please, Karin-chan, I can so pretend to be you," retorted Matsumoto. "Just be sarcastic and obnoxious and loud, right?"

"And all I have to do is flirt and gossip and pretend I have a hangover, right?" Karin replied.

The two friends shot each other mock glares before grinning. "I think we can actually pull this off," said Karin.

"Yes!" agreed Matsumoto. The two of them high-fived, before heading off on their separate ways. They'd forgotten one vital thing, though.

Hitsugaya Toushirou.

**…**

**…**

**…**

Karin made her way over to the Tenth Division office, whistling as she swayed her hips. (Her usual way of walking just wasn't going to cut it. Matsumoto's body was made for gliding, not striding.) She could have so much fun in this situation. It was the perfect opportunity to tease Toushirou, not to mention find out exactly how he felt about her. She grinned evilly.

Oh, yes. She could definitely use this to her advantage.

Reaching the doors, she threw them open with a flourish, pausing for a second in the doorway and instinctively posing. Matsumoto always made an entrance. Tossing the division members a wide smile, she exclaimed in a chirpy voice, "Hello, darlings! Where's Toushirou—ahem, I mean, where's Ta-i-i-chou?"

"Oh, he's gone out for a meeting with Ukitake-taichou, Matsumoto-fukutaichou," replied a young girl, smiling back at her before resuming with her filing duties.

"Oh," Karin said, slightly disappointed. Shaking her head, she shook off her feelings of gloom. It was probably better this way; she wasn't sure she could keep up the pretence in front of Toushirou—he always made her lose her head. Besides, now she could snoop through his belongings. That was something Matsumoto would do, right? Brightening up considerably, she widened her smile further and sang out, "Now, what work do you have for me, eh—"she paused briefly, trying to remember the girl's name—"Tomoko-chan!"

Just as she opened her mouth to reply, the division's fourth seat was carried in, unconscious.

"What happened to Kei-chan?" Karin asked, hoping that that was Matsumoto's nickname for the man.

"One of the new recruits knocked him out during training," replied one of the other members. "We've already sent a Hell Butterfly to Fourth Division, but it looks like no one's available to teach the newbies the drills and break them in."

"That's not a problem," Karin said. "I can handle that. Somebody take care of Kei-chan while I get those recruits into shape." With a markedly eager spring in her step, she shunpo'd out to the training barracks. All these fancy shinigami moves were _awesome_.

Behind her, the members of Tenth Division looked at each other worriedly.

"Did Matsumoto-fukutaichou just volunteer for actual work?" one asked.

"Looks like it," another replied. "She'll probably just have them swing their swords for half an hour and then gossip the rest of the period."

Everybody else nodded in agreement.

The newbies, however, were not dealing with the usual Matsumoto. Unfortunately for them, they were dealing with workaholic, violent, kendo-team member, soccer captain Kurosaki Karin. And, as her various teammates could testify, she knew how to make them hurt.

A lot.

"Hello, my little darlings," sang out Karin. "I'm Matsumoto-fukutaichou, as I'm sure everybody here knows." She paused as all twenty recruits nodded eagerly. "I'm here to show you a few drills and get you familiarized with the work ethic here at Tenth—which is all about rigorous dedication." Clapping her hands, she tilted her head to the side and asked, "Before we get started, which one of you knocked out Kei-chan?"

A tall young man timidly raised his hand. "Me, ma'am. Uh, it was an accident."

Karin narrowed Matsumoto's ice-blue eyes. "Your name?"

"K-Katsuo Konatsu," he said.

Breaking out in a grin, Karin slapped him on the back. "Don't look so nervous! It's okay to occasionally knock out a senior officer when sparring! Keeps us on our toes!"

"But we weren't sparring," another recruit pointed out.

Karin froze. "You weren't?"

The recruits shook their heads. "Keisuke-san was showing us a faster way to draw our swords when moving, and Konatsu-kun's hilt hit him in the head," the girl answered.

"From five feet away," someone else muttered. Konatsu turned even redder.

Karin sighed. "Looks like we've got our work cut out for us. So why don't you all give me five laps around the barracks, and we'll get you started after that."

Twenty faces gaped at her in shock.

"F-five laps? Around the _entire_ barracks?" one sputtered. "Are you crazy? We've already graduated from the Academy! We're not here for more torture sessions!"

Karin glared at him. "Did you just question orders, soldier? Because that makes it sound like you're the crazy one, not me."

"Umm…" the recruit hedged. He flinched as Karin yelled at him.

"Drop and give me ten!" she screamed.

"Umm, what?" he replied.

"I said, drop and give me twenty!" said Karin.

"B-but you just said…"

"Thirty!" she shouted. The recruit immediately began doing push-ups. Turning to the rest of them with a maniacal gleam in her eye, Karin sweetly said, "Aren't you all supposed to be running?"

After the five laps, she showed them the proper way of drawing their swords, and to make sure they'd do it right, she had them run at each other while doing so. Nobody wanted to end up like Kei-chan, so they kept their mouths shut and paid attention very, very carefully to the safety tips.

After that, she had them do sword drills for an hour, correcting their forms and yelling at the ones who didn't concentrate. If they didn't listen to her, she had them run more laps.

After that, she had them set up a mock battle to practice tactics, letting them pick their own leaders and strategies. She noted which ones took charge and organized the groups, and which ones could fight decently, and which ones could work together well. She also noted which ones were quick thinkers and came up with the plans and adapted to unexpected contingencies—like, say, a suddenly battle-hungry fukutaichou.

After that, she took pity on them and sent them to the showers. As they left, she could hear incredulous whispers saying, "But Matsumoto-fukutaichou is supposed to be laid-back!"

"Laid-back, my butt! She's a demon! A demon!" another said, wincing.

Karin only grinned.

Going back inside, she waved cheerfully at the unsuspecting Tenth Division members. "Hey, is my paperwork on my desk already?" she asked.

Everybody in the room froze before frantically resuming work.

"What was that?" Karin asked suspiciously.

"N-nothing, fukutaichou!" Tomoko replied anxiously. "Are you feeling okay? Do you need some saké?"

"No, Tomoko-chan, I'm fine," Karin said, waving away her concerns. "But really, I have to get started on that paperwork. There're piles of it, you know."

"You…want to do paperwork?" Tomoko said in shocked horror.

"Ye-es," said Karin cautiously. _Wow_, she thought, _Matsumoto must_ never _do her work if the reaction is _this _bad_. Thinking up a good excuse, she continued brightly, "Kyouraku-taichou will pay for a whole month's supply of saké if I can do one day's worth of paperwork."

"Oh," Tomoko-chan said in understanding, clearly relieved. But something must have bothered her again, since she nibbled her lip. "About that…"

"What?" Karin said, getting exasperated.

"We can't let you near the paperwork when Hitsugaya-taichou is not in the office to supervise you. Taichou's orders," she said.

"Since when!" Karin said.

"Since last week, when Yachiru-fukutaichou showed him the papier-mâché carp she made as a get-well gift for Ukitake-taichou. You know, the one using last month's budget reports?" Tomoko prodded.

"Oh," Karin said. "And, um, she mentioned me as the provider of the paper, right?"

"Right."

"Oh. Well," Karin said. "In that case, I guess I'll just…take a nap in my office."

"Right, Matsumoto-fukutaichou!" Tomoko-chan replied. "We'll tell any visitors that you're out on an errand if they ask, just like usual."

"Yeah, you do that," Karin said, retreating to the safety of Matsumoto's office. Poor Toushirou. She really pitied him if this was what he had to deal with on a daily basis. Sighing, she slumped down on the couch before noticing the stack of papers on Toushirou's desk. Sidling over, she picked one up and noticed it also needed the fukutaichou's signature. Grinning madly, she picked the stack up and moved it to Matsumoto's desk, then pulled out a cabinet drawer to get some brushes and ink.

The drawer opened up to reveal a bottle of saké.

Karin blinked, and closed the drawer. Opened it. Closed it. Opened it. The saké was still there.

Huh. That was odd. Usually Matsumoto had better hiding places than this. Unless…

"Tomoko-chan, would you come here?" she called out. As soon as her subordinate came, she pointed to the drawer and said, "Open it."

Shooting her an odd look, Tomoko did so. The drawer was filled with ink and paper. Shocked, Karin reached over and shut it, then opened it once more. Saké bottle.

"How does that work?" Karin wondered.

"You had Ikkaku-san build it, remember? And Akon-san made the lock. The secret compartment opens only for your reiatsu signature. I have to admit, it's one of your better hiding places," Tomoko said.

"I see…" Karin said. She grabbed the saké bottle and popped it open. Matsumoto's body really _was_ suffering from withdrawal. "Well, thank you. I needed some ink. I'll get to work on the paperwork now."

"P-paperwork?" Tomoko said.

"Yeah. Grabbed it off of Tou—Taichou's desk. Don't worry, I'll tell him you did your best to keep it from me," she replied, sitting at the desk and beginning the paperwork. "Now go back and do the rest of your work."

Tomoko and the rest of the members of Tenth Division stopped and stared, their mouths hanging open, watching Matsumoto-fukutaichou diligently work. The sight was so rare that it caused the general pace of the office to slow down to a snail's crawl. Feeling their gaze, Karin looked up and scowled. "If you don't want to finish your duties, I could definitely find something else for you to do," she said pointedly.

Tenth Division hurriedly ran back to their desks and resumed at a feverish pace. Karin gave another little grin, and as soon as she saw they were all engrossed with their work, closed the office door and made her way to Toushirou's desk.

Opening up the top drawer, her grin widened as she lifted out a small blue photo album and opened it to find her face looking out from every page.

_As soon as I get my body back…_she thought.

**…**

**…**

**…**

Matsumoto hadn't moved this easily in years. It was like being eleven again. Not that Karin was flat necessarily—it was just that Matsumoto had been a rather busty eleven.

However, she found she needed all the mobility she could get once she made her way back to Sixth Division. (Rukia always insisted her brother provide rooms for the Kurosakis when they visited. Renji always volunteered his quarters, but Matsumoto suspected that was a ploy to sleep over at Rukia's.)

"Kariiiiin!" cried out Isshin. "Come to Papa!"

Matsumoto dodged, and her fist reflexively came up to punch him in the gut. Oddly enough, the feeling was quite similar to when Asano Keigo or Kon tried to grope her. She wondered what that said for Isshin's relationship with his children, as she'd noticed Ichigo act the same way.

"Umm…get out of the way, stupid Sheep-chin?" she said uncertainly.

"Goat-chin," Isshin replied. "Otou-san's nickname is Goat-chin! How could my darling Karin forget?" he wailed quite loudly.

"Are you okay, Karin?" Yuzu asked, catching up with her father. "It is odd of you to forget. You're the one who came up with the name, after all."

"Eh, actually, I did have a run-in at Twelfth Division. My memory went fuzzy for a bit. I thought I was a soccer ball," Matsumoto lied desperately. Being Karin was more difficult than she'd initially expected.

"Oh? That's not as bad as when Ishida-kun got convinced he was Marilyn Monroe," Yuzu said.

"When was that?" Matsumoto asked, surprised.

"Ah, it was at Onii-chan's 21st birthday party. I think you were outside talking with Toushirou-kun when it happened."

"Oh?" Matsumoto inquired. This was new. She hadn't noticed him sneaking off…then again, she'd been so deep in the cups that she hadn't noticed Ishida-kun's impersonation as history's most famous blond, either.

"Mm-hm," replied Yuzu. "Now, are you two coming in for lunch or not? Onii-chan, Rukia-nee-chan, and Renji-kun are getting hungry. I made Korean barbecue."

Matsumoto had a fascinating time fending off Isshin's attacks on her plate. The body naturally seemed to know what to do without any prompting from her. She wondered if Karin was experiencing the same thing. Afterwards, as she helped Yuzu do the dishes, she was able to participate in some good-natured teasing of Ichigo. Rukia and Renji had soooo much more ammunition than she did. She stored away a few choice remarks for future use. Orihime-chan might want to hear some of them as well, as quite a few involved her…

Her match-making gears were definitely on overdrive, as she didn't even notice when Rukia called out her—well, Karin's—name.

"Hmm?" she asked.

Rukia grinned. "I said, has Toushirou made a move yet?"

Matsumoto felt herself blush. _This is weird_, she thought. _Just his name is enough to do it? Man, Karin's got it BAD. I mean, I know it's not_ me.

Clearing her throat, she replied, "Nope."

"Well, you really have to work on that, ne, Karin-chan?" Renji said, wiggling his tattoos. He grunted as Ichigo elbowed him in the side.

"Knock it off!" Ichigo said. "I'll kill that midget before I let him date Karin!"

"But, Ichigo!" said Yuzu. "Toushirou-kun is a very nice boy."

"Yes!" cried out Isshin. "And he'll make beautiful babies with my Karin-chan!"

"Shut up, Goat-chin!" Matsumoto yelled. "That is not why I want him to be my boyfriend!"

The occupants of the room blinked at her.

"Wow, Karin-chan, you finally admitted it," Yuzu said incredulously.

She hadn't admitted it yet? From the way they'd been teasing her, Matsumoto had thought it was general knowledge. Besides, you only had to watch them for five seconds to know _something_ was going on between them. You could practically see sparks!

Matsumoto was grateful as the conversation turned to other topics besides Karin's love-life. It was hard to scowl and act angry when all she wanted to do was nod and wink and agree. After an hour of talking, everyone began moving out of the house. Ichigo and Renji were heading to the training grounds to spar, Isshin had some catching up to do with Kyouraku-taichou, and Yuzu had planned a shopping excursion.

Normally, if Matsumoto had had a choice, she'd have accompanied either Isshin or Yuzu, but she was stuck as Karin, so she had to take Rukia's offer of going to Thirteenth Division. Apparently, Ukitake-taichou had gotten a hold of some soccer-shaped candy that he wanted to give her.

Once there, she laughed and joked with the Thirteenth Division members, agreeing to play a game of soccer some time. Leaning against Rukia's desk, she kept up a friendly conversation with her as she waited for Ukitake-taichou to come back from his walk. Soon enough, she could see him making his way back, accompanied by a distinctly familiar head of hair.

Matsumoto could feel Karin's heart stop then resume beating wildly as her eyes met Toushirou's.

"T-t-taichou," she stuttered before blushing. _Idiot!_ she thought to herself. _Karin calls him..._"Hi, Toush!" she gushed to make up for her mistake.

"Hello, Karin-chan," said Ukitake. "And how many times do I have to tell you? Feel free to call me Ukitake-san, not taichou." Patting her on the head, he handed her a small bag of sweets. "Here, I found these in a shop the other day. I thought you might like them."

"A-arigatou," she managed to get out, her eyes somehow straying to Toushirou. _Stupid heart!_ Matsumoto thought in irritation. If this was how Karin normally felt, it was a wonder that she could talk around Toushirou at all. She smiled politely as Ukitake and Rukia said their goodbyes and made their way out of the room. She noticed Rukia wink suggestively before the door closed, leaving her and Toushirou alone.

Matsumoto released a breath of relief as her heart rate slowed down. _Good, I've got control of the body again. _Man, she'd forgotten how stressful first loves could be.

"Karin," said the boy she'd been studiously avoiding. "You wanna head over to my office and grab my soccer ball? We can play a game at the training grounds."

"Sure!" she replied automatically.

"Cool," said Toushirou, and Matsumoto barely had time to blink before he had hooked an arm under her knees and was carrying her bridal style as he shunpo'd to Tenth Division. Setting her down gently, she couldn't help but notice he took an awfully long time making sure she was fine, even smoothing a strand of hair behind her ear.

_Taichou should just go ahead and ask her out already. I don't know what the hell he's waiting for, but I'm definitely fixing that right now_, she thought.

Walking into the Tenth Division, they came across a bunch of shell-shocked workers.

"What happened?" Toushirou demanded.

"Hello, Taichou. Hello, Karin-san," Tomoko-chan said in a dazed voice. "Matsumoto-fukutaichou was—"

"Damn it!" Toushirou interrupted. "I told you to keep the paperwork away from her! Now I'm going to have to—"

"—doing paperwork. Willingly," finished Tomoko.

"What?" Toushirou said. Matsumoto wished she had her camera on her. The look on his face was priceless.

"I'm serious, Taichou," another member replied. "We even checked it to make sure she did it properly. A whole day's work, finished. All you need to do is sign the stack on your desk."

"D-did she say if anything was wrong with her…?" asked Toushirou.

"Nothing, Hitsugaya-taichou," said a now-conscious Kei-chan. "Though she did terrorize the newbies when training them."

"She _trained_ the new recruits?" Toushirou spluttered. The division members nodded solemnly.

"Where is she?" he asked gruffly.

"Ummm, Akon-san sent her an urgent memo, so she left for Twelfth Division a few minutes ago," said Tomoko. "She said she'd be back soon, and to have a new pile ready for her."

"Excuse us," Toushirou said, grabbing Matsumoto's hand and pulling her into his office, shutting the door. He walked directly to the pile of paperwork on his desk, flipping through them in growing disbelief.

"I don't believe it," he said, walking over and throwing the windows open. Peering outside at the sky, he shook his head and continued, "Nope, no pigs flying. Everything looks remarkably fine for the end of the world." He turned around and smiled widely at the person he thought was Karin.

Matsumoto smiled back, and put her plan into action by quietly locking the office door.

_Click._

"Toushirou," she said. "I am desperately in love with you. I always have been, ever since we first met. I love your eyes, and your smile, and the way you always make me laugh. My heart skips a beat every time I see you, and I know no one else can make me feel this way. You're the only one for me, so please be my boyfriend."

Matsumoto was expecting a lot of reactions, ranging from tears of joy to suddenly jumping her. What she didn't expect was outright laughter.

"HAHAHA!" laughed Toushirou. He was slumped over the desk, and there were indeed tears in his eyes, but they were ones of mirth rather than joy. Matsumoto stared at him in shocked anger. THIS is how he reacted to a confession of love?

"Oh, Kami-sama help me!" he managed to get out. "What stupid chick-flick are you quoting this time? We have to see it! That confession was totally clichéd!"

He thought she was quoting a movie? And what was up with 'this time'? They'd watched movies before? She had to admit that that was promising. What was less promising was the fact that they watched romantic movies together to laugh at them.

Maybe a more drastic approach was necessary. After all, if love didn't work, lust would. Following that line of thought, Matsumoto casually moved to sit on the couch, unbuttoning her shirt a little as she did so.

Toushirou took one look at her and raised his eyebrow. "You hot, Karin?" he asked, making his way to sit on the couch beside her. "Here, let me help you."

Matsumoto widened her eyes as he ran a current of cool reiatsu through her.

"Better?" Toushirou asked her. She nodded and he said, "Good. Now button up your shirt. If we're going outside to have a game, you've got to be completely decent. Remember that time your brother caught us playing, and you had a tank top on? He completely trashed the soccer ball."

Moving away from her to grab the soccer ball from behind his desk, he turned back to say, "Now, are you coming or what?"

What was wrong with him? He was supposed to blush and stutter and be completely unable to turn his eyes away! This was the girl he was in love with, for Kami's sake! She knew he found Karin attractive! She just knew it!

Glaring at her uncooperative taichou, Matsumoto took three strides forward and grabbed his head. "Karin likes you, damn it! Be a man and do something about it!"

Toushirou frowned. "Karin, are you alright? You're referring to yourself in the third person."

Giving a scream of frustration, Matsumoto pushed her baka of a taichou onto the couch and sat on top of him.

"K-Karin?" he stuttered. "What are you _doing?_"

Matsumoto grinned, on familiar territory once more. "Why, Taichou, isn't it obvious?" she said as she pulled her shirt over her head, exposing a close-fitting tank top beneath it. _Sorry, Karin_, she thought. _I know I said I wouldn't do anything you wouldn't, but, well…you'd do this someday._

"I'm seducing you," she finished, leaning forward watching as her taichou's eyes widened in panic.

"Stop!" he said in a strangled voice, abruptly trying to push her off. In the ensuing struggle, he ended up on top, holding her wrists captive with one hand and reaching for her discarded shirt with the other. Matsumoto was pouting as he hurriedly tried to get her to put it back on.

"Ouch!" she said. "You're hurting me!"

She hadn't expected the door to burst open at just that moment.

"Taaiiichoouou!" cried out her body, slamming the door shut behind her. "You know locked doors can't stand against me!"

She froze as she took in the scene before her.

"Toushirou…" Kurosaki Karin said in Matsumoto Rangiku's voice. "What the_ hell_ are you doing?"

"I-I-I wasn't doing anything!" cried out Toushirou desperately. "Honest! I was just trying to—!" He broke off as he noticed he still held the shirt in his hand.

Dropping it, he looked up and would have continued to explain if Matsumoto's fist hadn't crashed into his nose using Karin's signature left hook.

**…**

**…**

**…**

"What did you do!" screeched Matsumoto.

"What did I do? What did_ I_ do? What did he do? He was raping me! I mean, you! Me! _Us_!" Karin shrieked. "If all he gets out of this is a bloody nose, he'll be lucky!"

"It wasn't like that, Karin-chan!" Matsumoto said. "It was my fault! I was seducing him!"

"And apparently he liked it! How dare he! He was totally making out with my body! Without me in it!"

"No, he wasn't! He was trying to get me to put your shirt back on. He didn't want to make out with you," Matsumoto tried to explain.

Karin stiffened. "Oh, so I wasn't good enough for him, huh?"

"Yes! I mean, no! No no no no!" Matsumoto said. "I mean…I don't know what I mean anymore."

Karin was about to punch her too before she remembered that she'd soon be occupying that body again. Reluctantly unclenching her fist and calming down somewhat, she suddenly glanced at the door in horror.

"Oh, no! Did the entire division just—?" she asked.

"Nope," said Matsumoto. "I got the room sound-proofed so Taichou wouldn't know when I was throwing parties."

"Oh, good," Karin said, relieved. She started glaring at Matsumoto again. "Now give me my body back!"

"I can't!" said Matsumoto.

"Oh, yes, you can! While you were trying to get me raped, I was over at Twelfth Division, getting the antidote from Rin-chan and Akon!" Karin ranted. "Now give me back my body so I can punch your lights out!"

"I was trying to do you a favor!" Matsumoto said. "Everyone knows you're desperately in love with him!"

"So what if I am?" Karin replied. "I'm in love with Toushirou! There, are you happy? I admitted it! Now stop meddling! I _will_ make him mine! On my own terms! In my own way!"

Matsumoto was gazing behind her in sudden dismay. "Ummm, that wasn't what it sounded like…" she began to say.

"Oh, it was exactly what it sounded like!" screamed Karin.

"Really, Matsumoto?" said Toushirou dryly from behind her. He was sitting up, holding a hand to his nose as blood trickled out.

Karin whirled around and was about to punch him again when he casually stopped her fist with his other hand. "Thank you, Matsumoto, but once was enough," he said. "Now what was that nonsense about being in love with me?" he asked.

"HOW EXACTLY IS MY BEING IN LOVE WITH YOU _NONSENSE_, TOUSH?" she hollered back.

At his flabbergasted expression, she burst into tears of frustration. "Oh, forget it! Being in love with you is absolutely pointless. You know, I actually thought I might have a chance when I saw that photo album of me in your desk, but it look like it was just a fluke. Well fine! I wouldn't want a guy who doesn't treat women with respect anyway!"

She turned to march out of the room before Matsumoto caught hold of her hand. "Um, perhaps you should listen to my explanation first, Karin-chan," she said.

"Karin-chan?" said Toushirou. "_You're_ Karin, not her."

"Well, you see, Taichou, that's not exactly true at the moment…" Matsumoto began, then launched into a comprehensive explanation for the both of them, watching as Toushirou's and eventually her/Karin's own eyes began to widen.

"…and that's why he was holding me like that," she finished.

"Matsumoto…" growled Toushirou. "I'm going to kill you the moment you get back in your own body."

"Not if I kill her first," said Karin.

"But I was just trying to help!" Matsumoto protested. "You were obviously never going to make a move, and Karin wasn't exactly in a hurry either! I was only trying to give you a little push in the right direction!"

"Who the hell said I was never going to make a move?" demanded Toushirou and Karin at the same time, then glanced at each other in surprise and embarrassment.

"Umm, well, I wanted to—" Toushirou said.

"I thought that you—" Karin said.

Both of them lapsed into silence.

Matsumoto quirked a raven eyebrow at the both of them, and said, "Watching you act like nervous lovebirds when I'm not in my body is just too weird." She then reached for the bag Karin had dropped by the door, pulling out a little vial of liquid and downing it.

Matsumoto and Karin both dropped to the floor before waking up a minute or so later.

"Ow," Matsumoto said, sitting up. "Ne, Karin-chan, did you have to punch him so hard? My hand hurts now."

"You totally deserve it," Karin grumbled in reply.

"That's true, I suppose," Matsumoto said, then eyed the two of them. "Well, I'll be heading off now, so I'll let you guys make up…"

She winked at Karin before shutting the door behind her.

"So…" Karin began. "You like me."

Toushirou shook his head. Karin's jaw dropped in shock.

"I don't like you…" he said, an instant before grinning. "…I love you."

Smiling back at him, Karin walked over to stand before him, reveling in the familiar movements of her own body, feeling her heartbeat quicken at the sound of his voice, and loving how she was just the perfect height to stare into his eyes.

Reaching up a hand to stroke his face, she whispered, "Sorry about your nose."

Shrugging, he replied, "Don't worry about it. Although…" Leaning in a little closer, he breathed into her ear: "…I could use a kiss to make up for it."

Laughing, she pulled him closer and captured his lips with hers. If she'd known a punch would lead to this, she'd have knocked him out _ages_ ago.

Outside, Matsumoto was grinning like a madman. Her subordinates were staring at the second biggest shock of their lives as she hung a neat little sign on the office door:

Do Not Disturb.

"Taichou's orders!" she sang out. "Now, somebody get me a bottle of saké, and let's get celebrating!"

Leaning back against a desk, she thought to herself, _Oh, it is_ definitely _good to be me._

* * *

**Endnote: **

**CrazyAce: Man, I am SOOOO failing at my initial objective—which was to write something short! These are getting progressively longer and longer…well, you guys don't mind, do you?**

**PokerFace: I should hope they wouldn't.**

**CrazyAce: You're only saying that because you actually came up with half the stuff in this one.**

**PokerFace: True. *turns to readers* So I hope you all review like good little minions and tell me what you think about our most extensive collaboration to date.**

**CrazyAce: Umm…what he said. But with a please thrown in! So, PLEASE review and tell us what you think! :D**

**PokerFace: I quite like this spotlight. Perhaps I should make more appearances, say every five chapters?**

**CrazyAce: We'll see... Alright, lovely readers! Farewell for now!**

**PokerFace: Goodbye, minions. I will see you shortly.**


	16. Carwash

**Author's Note: Hello to our lovely readers! Here we are with another one-shot, this one characterized with our trademark humor and epic length! Hope you like it! :D **

**This prompt is courtesy of myself! Yes, indeed, I managed to come up with my own prompt. But don't worry, I've got a ton of prompts from all of you to inspire me—next up is "West" for Vilutski! Anyway, this one is set four years in the future from the manga's current now, making Karin around 16, right? Whoa, that sounded confusing. Damn time skip, it's messing up **_**my**_** time skips. Sigh. Anyway, this is Donny-Pinta-Kazuya-Ryohei-centric, and thus perverted. You have been warned. :D (If anyone would like to give me a prompt, just PM me. It'll probably take a while to get written, what with the ten or so requests I've got waiting, but it'll pop up, promise! :) **

**Summary: ****Every time he wrung out the sponge, they squealed. Every time he wiped a window, they squealed. Every time he bent over to move the bucket, they squealed so damn loud he thought he'd go deaf. He was never helping Kurosaki and her friends ever again. Never. Never. NEVER.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong solely to Tite Kubo. However, I do own the official bootleg and a couple volumes of the manga now, and if there was an alternate universe where I do own Bleach, I will promptly give my left arm to switch with my other self. :)**

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen: Carwash**

* * *

It was a well-known fact that Donny, Pinta, Kazuya, and Ryohei were more or less the menial slaves to one Kurosaki Karin. Ever since they met in pre-school, she had been the undisputed leader of their group, the guiding force, the merciless taskmaster, the ruthless general at the front of her five-man army who expected all of her foot soldiers to commit kamikaze on command, for the good of the cause.

Originally, the battle had been fought against Komiya Tsuchiyo's rival gang, who had been terrorizing Karakura Sunnyside Preschool—you know, stealing cookies, cutting in line, pulling girls' pigtails, and basically training to become Karakura Sunnyside Kindergarten's next mafia clan. Donny, Pinta, Kazuya, and Ryohei had resigned themselves to a thankless future as Komiya-kun's lackeys, up until the day Komiya had made the mistake that would change their lives forever.

His not-too-bright idea? Taking Kurosaki Yuzu's favorite doll and playing catch with it amongst his fellow four-year-old cronies, before eventually throwing it over the fence, where it got run over by a passing truck. He then added insult to injury by pushing a sobbing Yuzu into the sandbox and laughing at her. In fact, he was so busy laughing that he didn't see a miniature black-haired tornado heading towards him until it was too late.

Donny, Pinta, Kazuya, Ryohei, and the rest of their class watched in open-mouthed shock as Karin punched, kicked, bit, and beat Komiya into a bloody pulp. At the end of the fight, she added insult to injury by vindictively kicking her downed opponent in the balls and sticking her tongue out at him.

Komiya's cronies didn't take that too well; they attacked Karin. Correction: they tried attacking, but most of them tripped over the jump-rope that Ryohei and Pinta had oh-so-innocently pulled up at that moment, or disabled by the soccer balls that somehow bounced off of Donny and Kazuya's feet. And as their baffled teacher later tried to piece together the story, all four boys lied through their teeth and said Komiya-kun had repeatedly run into the flag pole; Kurosaki-chan had nothing to do with it.

At the end of the day, as they sat waiting for their parents to pick them up, Yuzu had smiled at them and thanked them sweetly. Karin had cast a cynical eye over them, curled her lip, and declared them wimps—but stated casually that she'd be willing to teach them how to punch if they'd let her play soccer with them, so long as they didn't complain when she kicked their butts.

The boys didn't know it when they agreed, but they'd just consigned themselves to a semi-thankless future as Kurosaki's lackeys instead of Komiya's.

(Unbeknownst to the group, Komiya's plans for revenge, utilizing the help of his ten-year-old brother, came to a premature end at the hands of a nine-year-old strawberry head and his demon-like girl classmate from the dojo. Needless to say, the Komiya boys never did get over their phobia of girls with short, black hair.)

As they grew older, the battles continued to be fought: with curmudgeonly dogs who stole baseballs, with older bullies who no one else was crazy enough to defy, and with certain middle school soccer teams who would _not _get off the damn field.

(It was against this last adversary that the group gained a valuable new ally—though the boys never quite knew whether Hitsugaya's rank was that of a trusty lieutenant or a friendly general. Kazuya had eventually decided that they should refer to him as the IFA—Independent Fellow Agent.)

However, the combined might of their five-man army was failing miserably against their latest foe—the Karakura High Baking Club.

* * *

It all started when Kurosaki joined the kendo club at their high school. Naturally, when she discovered the team was short of a manager or two, she graciously volunteered Pinta and the others. Never mind that they hadn't even been _interested_ in the kendo club or that they would really prefer to spend their time during the soccer team's off-season playing video games. She needed them to be managers, so managers they were.

They didn't mind it too much—at first. After all, the work was mostly easy: making sure there was water available, getting the wooden swords out, sweeping the floor, tallying up the results of practice matches (Kurosaki was in first place at twenty-three wins, zero losses), and keeping track of tournament schedules and the club budget. Nothing the four of them couldn't handle. Plus, the girls on the club were _babes_ (Kurosaki being the notable exception; even hinting that she might be pretty or remotely girly would earn them a black eye).

It was the good life, alright.

Then, of course, the work piled up after a while. Things got pretty bad after the practice dummies had to get dry-cleaned and never returned, and they had to substitute _themselves_ as dummies in _very_ thin padding, and the boys' team had absolutely _no _concept of restraint, and they accumulated a whole mess of bruises in _unspeakable_ places. Then things got _really _bad after Kurosaki was informed of how much the new practice dummies cost, and Kazuya was convinced his kidney would never work again. And then things got _worse_ when Pinta's dog ate the _master _copy of the practice schedule, and he was convinced his was partially blind in his left eye after Kurosaki was through with him. And then things were plain _horrible_ after Ryohei left his backpack outside, and it rained, and _of course_ the budget receipts were in it, and they were just a soggy mess from hell afterwards, and Ryohei was convinced his shoulder was probably going to be stuck in an unnatural angle, thanks to Kurosaki. And_ then_ things got as bad as they could get after Donny accidentally bought laxative powder instead of vitamin boosters, and he put the _entire _package in the team water jug, and the boys' team lost to their rival school as a result of them _all _being stuck in the restrooms, and Kurosaki was a friggin' _demon_, and Donny was the sacrificial lamb.

To top it off, most of the cute girls were too busy ogling the hot, buff guys on the boys' kendo team to notice the very talented, very attractive, and very available bad boys working as the team managers (obviously, they had to bad boys in order to accumulate so many bruises, right?).

Anyway, the point was that their lives were not worth living anymore.

Fortunately, they had one last chance to make it up to Kurosaki and claw their way out of hell: pay for the new practice dummies, as well as new swords, new protective gear, new everything. To do that, they'd have to raise the most money out of any individual club, which would qualify them for the school's grand monetary prize. Whichever club earned the most, got the most.

Unfortunately, they were up against the Karakura High Baking Club. And as Kazuya said:

"Damn it! How the hell are we supposed to raise more money than _them_? They have boobs, brains, and hot buns! Edible cinnamon hot buns! And we can't even resort to sabotage because Kurosaki's sister is the president!" Kazuya waved his arms madly. "It's friggin' hopeless!"

The guys were gathered in the parking lot next to Kurosaki's truck, waiting for her to get back from the locker rooms after—you guessed it—kendo practice. They figured they might as well make use of the time and work on their fund-raising strategy.

"We can't give up yet!" Donny said. "Kurosaki said if we didn't deliver the goods, she'd get her dad to take out our organs and sell them on the black market!"

"She's bluffing," Ryohei scoffed, then paused. "I think."

"Her dad would never go along with it…right?" Pinta asked.

The boys simultaneously shuddered as they recalled Kurosaki Isshin's crazy escapades. Oh, he'd definitely do it, and even if he didn't, Kurosaki had ties to that creepy shopkeeper with the green-striped hat, and they'd _seen _unconscious bodies go into his store but never come out.

"Okay," Pinta said, a bit desperately, "we have to think of something! Come on! We can't compete in the baked goods department, but there's other stuff we can do, right? How about lemonade? We made a ton of money last week doing that."

"Can't," Kazuya said, pushing his glasses up. "The KBC sells hot chocolate to go with their cupcakes and brownies."

"I don't believe this," Pinta said. "We're going to lose to sweets._ Sweets_. We've worked our butts off selling candy, lemonade, instant ramen, baseball cards, anime figures, and even dirty magazines on the sly! We've baby-sat, hired ourselves out as gofers, run errands for cranky old men, mowed lawns in the dead of winter, and begged on street corners, for crying out loud! Every fund-raiser out there, we've tried; every job available, we've worked; every thing to sell, we've sold! What do we have to do, rob a bank? We've beaten every other club out there, even our own soccer club, and we're going to lose to Yuzu and her _brownies?_" He pulled at his hair in frustration.

Donny cleared his throat. "Well, they're amazing brownies, you have to admit."

"Yeah. And Yuzu's sexy in a sweet kind of way," Ryohei added. "Don't tell Kurosaki I said that."

"And you have to remember that Jinta threatened to beat up anybody who didn't buy her stuff," Kazuya finished.

They all sighed.

"We're doomed." Pinta kicked the tire of Kurosaki's truck, then glanced at her windows. He squinted at the layer of dust that coated them, running his finger across them. "Kurosaki's gonna have us wash her truck soon."

"Again?" Donny complained. "But we just washed it last week!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But whadaya expect? With that construction thing next to the school parking lot going on right now, everyone's car is getting covered in dirt," Pinta explained, grimacing at the truck.

"That's it!" Kazuya suddenly exclaimed.

"What's it?" Pinta asked.

"A carwash! We can have a carwash to raise money! People have tons of dirty cars! Look around us!" He pointed at the various dirt-streaked vehicles currently parked in the vicinity. "We'll be rich!" Kazuya got up and started a victory dance.

"We'll be saved!" Donny exclaimed, joining him.

"We'll get to keep our organs!" Ryohei yelled.

They celebrated for a moment before Kazuya stopped. "Wait, we need to plan this out. Figure out the best way to make the most money."

"Well, that's gonna be easy," Ryohei remarked. "The girls' kendo team can help us out. Hot babes in white shirts washing cars? Guys will be flocking for _miles_ around."

"Like Kurosaki will approve of that plan," Donny remarked.

"We won't know until we try," Kazuya replied primly. "And besides, she'll be there to work as a bruiser and beat up any guys who don't follow the no-touch policy. I think she'd enjoy that."

Donny and Pinta nodded while Ryohei started complaining about the no-touch policy ("It's for customers only, right? Ain't nothing wrong with fellow employees getting to know each other." "There is if you're one of the employees." "Shut up!"). Kazuya, however, stroked his chin in thought.

"Well, there's one thing we ought to change, isn't there?"

"What?"

"'Babes' into 'pretty boys.'"

The others stared at him blankly.

Ryohei asked, "Why the hell would we want to bring competition into this?"

Kazuya scowled. "Not competition, idiots! Bait! More than half the people at this school are girls, and more of them own cars 'cuz they're less likely to crash 'em, so insurance is cheaper."

"But Kurosaki nearly causes three accidents a _day_."

"Since when has Kurosaki qualified as a normal girl? And that's beside the point. The fact is, the main reason why Yuzu and her club is beating the pants off of us in terms of sales is because they market their product to girls."

His friends stared blankly at him again. Kazuya sighed. "They make girls want to buy their stuff, so they get more money. So we have to get girls to buy _our_ stuff instead, and _that _means getting good-looking guys to help us out so girls can come and ogle them. Otherwise, we'll lose to Yuzu and her brownie brigade, and Kurosaki will sell our organs on the black market. And even though they're probably slightly dysfunctional now, I'm still attached to my kidneys, so are you guys with me or not?"

This time, everybody nodded. Ryohei then raised a hand. "But if you want pretty boys, aren't we enough?"

"Do I even need to answer that?"

Donny and Pinta answered with a resounding, "No." ("Come on, Ryohei. We're not really pretty boy material." "Yeah! We're more ruggedly handsome!")

"Good." Kazuya breathed an inner sigh of relief. Maybe things would actually work out for once.

Then again, he'd thought things would work out when he helped Kurosaki take down Komiya's thugs, and look where_ that_ had gotten him.

* * *

After they got Kurosaki's blessing, the girls' kendo team's cooperation, and the school administration's permission to use the campus this coming Saturday, the guys went on a pretty boy hunt.

It was surprisingly more difficult than they thought it would be.

"How come _every _single guy who could _possibly_ count as a pretty boy is busy this Saturday?" Pinta complained after two days of fruitless searching. "The carwash is tomorrow, for crying out loud, and it's still just us, Kurosaki, and the girls."

"The boys' kendo team has an out-of-town tournament, the archery club has practice, the baseball team still has a grudge against us for selling more baseball cards than them, and the soccer team considers us traitors who have crossed over to the dark side. Hikaru's an ass, Yoichi's girlfriend would kill him, and everyone else who owes us is either going to see the new Bad Shield movie or got put in the hospital by Jinta for not buying Yuzu's food. That narrows down our list by a lot." Kazuya spoke while mentally preparing himself for the speech he would give Kurosaki on why she _really_ wouldn't want his kidneys. Indelible damage, maybe? That could work, especially since _she_ was the one who caused it. Nobody could say she didn't do a thorough job…

Pinta groaned. "Honestly, I can't believe even the kendo guys are bailing on us! After all the things we've done for them! We even let them use us as practice dummies! The ungrateful bastards!"

"You forget that Donny also poisoned them and caused them utter humiliation since there were only four stalls in the restroom and fifteen people on the team," Ryohei muttered darkly.

"But they said they forgave us!"

"Still. Anyway, we've got a couple more people to ask. What about Kurosaki's brother? I mean, all the girls were crazy for him, right? 'Kyaa, kyaa, he's a punk, but he's sexy, so it's okay!' God, his fan club used to be so annoying. But the point is, he always comes through for us."

"Yeah! Let's ask him. His subscription for _Busty Beach Babes_ ought to be expiring, so we definitely have incentive." The foursome thus cheerfully made their way to Kurosaki Ichigo's apartment.

* * *

"I'm telling you, I've never met you freaks before in my life!" Kurosaki Ichigo yelled at them.

"Aw, don't be like that, Ichigo-san! You've met us tons of times! We're Karin's friends, remember, and you've helped us lots!"

"The hell I have! And even if you're Karin's friends, I'm pretty sure you guys are the ones who broke the old TV when you played soccer inside the house." Ichigo crossed his arms and glared at them, standing resolutely in the doorway.

"That wasn't our fault! It was part of Kurosa—Karin's plan to get her dad to buy the flat screen!" Donny protested.

"Whatever. Just get lost, okay? I don't have time to deal with you guys right now." Ichigo started closing the door on them when Ryohei pushed his foot into the crack.

"Get. Your. Foot. Out. _Now_," Ichigo said threateningly. "Or I will break it for you."

"C'mon, Ichigo-san. Just help us out with this one thing, and you never have to see us again. Promise," Pinta said, crossing his fingers behind his back.

"It's not like we expect you to help us for free. Trust us, you'll be richly compensated," Kazuya said. It was a good thing Kurosaki's brother was a pervert. "Your subscription's about to expire, right?"

Ichigo's brows drew together in puzzlement. "My subscription? What the hell are you guys talking about?"

Ryohei chuckled. "Don't be shy, Ichigo-san. You're amongst guys here, no need to be embarrassed. We'll help you out, like usual. Squid pro quo, and all that."

"…I have even less of an idea of what you're doing here than I did when I opened the door."

"Ahem. He meant quid pro quo, and we're talking about us paying for your yearly subscription to _Busty Beach Babes_," Kazuya said bluntly.

Ichigo's eyes widened in horror as he suddenly realized that the four weirdoes currently camped out on his doorstep were the source of Kon's infinite supply of dirty magazines, and the reason they thought they knew him was because Kon "did business" with them on a regular basis! They thought he was the perverted lion!

He was going to knock the stuffing out of that stuffed animal! Or, well, his gigai, since Kon now occupied a brown-haired version of Ichigo's body.

Meanwhile, he had to set the record straight.

Opening his mouth to somehow correct them ("You must be talking about my cousin, Ichikon. If you want his help, go see this creepy guy in a green-striped hat and clogs who runs the store down the block."), he paused in horror as he heard someone stuttering behind him.

"B-b-busty b-beach babes?" his girlfriend's voice squeaked.

"Orihime! It's not what you think!" Ichigo shouted desperately, turning around and abandoning his post at the door, allowing Donny and the others to get a glimpse of a _goddess_—light brown hair, huge brown eyes, long, _long_ legs, and in the words of Arakawa-sensei, va-_voom_—

—who was currently bright red and in danger of fainting from the shock of finding out her boyfriend was a pervert.

"Y-you said the magazines I found in your room were Kon's!" she managed to get out.

"They are! These guys don't know what they're talking about. They're just a bunch of random punks from the high school," Ichigo said desperately as he tried to close the door with Ryohei's foot still in the way.

"B-but they knew your name!" Orihime said.

"That's because they're Karin's soccer buddies!"

"I thought they were a bunch of random punks," she said, confused and a little suspicious.

"Yeah! A bunch of random punks who just happen to know Karin."

"So you do know them. And those magazines were yours…I—I have to leave!" she said, running out the door, past the boys' admiring stares.

"Damn. That is one gorgeous girl," Ryohei said.

"Uh-huh," the rest of them seconded. They stared after her for a moment before they heard something peculiar.

"Hey, what's that popping sound?" Pinta asked.

Turning around, they were met with the terrifying sight of Ichigo cracking his knuckles.

"You know," he said conversationally, "maybe we _should _get to know each other better. I don't know about you, but I met most of my friends through fights." He grinned savagely.

The boys gulped.

"Let's run," Kazuya whispered.

They managed to get five yards away before Ichigo caught up to them. It really was unfortunate _this _time around that Kurosaki's brother was so very athletic.

* * *

A few minutes later, they were walking down the street and examining their latest collection of Kurosaki-induced bruises. Kazuya, like always, tallied up their progress.

Injuries incurred in the service of the cause: 267. Number of people recruited in service for the cause: 0. Percentage of the likelihood that Kurosaki would kill them: 100.

They were _so _dead. Actually, they were halfway there already.

"Damn that Ichigo! He didn't have to hit us _that_ hard. My ears are still ringing and now my entire body is sort of purple-yellow," said Ryohei.

After their little get-together with Ichigo, none of the boys were doing so well. The best they could do was lean on each other as they hobbled the torturous journey to Kurosaki's house to report their progress—or rather, their lack thereof.

"You can't exactly blame him. We _did_ just try to sell him porn in front of his girlfriend," Kazuya said, ever the voice of reason.

"Try telling that to Pinta. Now he's partially blind in _both _eyes," Donny grumbled.

"Yeah. But besides that, how in the world did _Kurosaki Ichigo_ get _Inoue Orihime_ as a girlfriend? She's, like, the hottest babe in Karakura and Ichigo is the biggest pervert in the world," Ryohei said incredulously. "Did constantly peeping on girls suddenly become a desired trait in your boyfriend?"

"As if! Otherwise you wouldn't be able to leave your house without being mobbed by girls, Ryohei," Pinta stated.

"Hey, that's below the belt. Besides I'm not perverted, I'm just naturally curious."

The other boys stopped and turned to look at Ryohei in disbelief.

"Okay! Okay! Well, at least I'm not a pervert compared to Ichigo. He makes me look like an innocent new-born baby," Ryohei snorted.

"Well, actually, we might be the only people who know he's a pervert. I mean, have you ever seen him act like a pervert around anyone besides us?" Pinta said.

The boys paused while they considered this new question.

"He _does _have atendency to scowl constantly around other people," Ryohei allowed.

"Maybe he's trying to make an image for himself? Some girls are into the bad-boy type," said Donny.

"I guess it works if he got Orihime to like him. Maybe I should start practicing my scowl?" mused Pinta.

"Whatever! We need to stop whining about Ichigo and get to work. Or else the _other_ Kurosaki will slaughter us," Kazuya pointedly reminded them.

Ryohei threw up his hands. "I don't care anymore! She could hang me with my own intestines and I wouldn't be bothered at all! I'm so beat up I'd probably _thank _her for ending the pain!"

Pinta nodded in agreement. "What is _with_ the Kurosaki family, anyway? Karin treats us like dirt, her dad's insane, Yuzu's brownies are killing our profit, and even _Ichigo,_ who _used_ to be our buddy, acts like we're total strangers. Not to mention that he beat us half way to hell."

"Who _cares?_ I give up! There's no pleasing _any _of them! We've tried our best, we should just let Kurosaki crucify us and get it over with." Ryohei seemed dead-set on facing his impending doom with a sense of nihilism. However, the others were still reluctant to throw in the towel just yet.

"We can't give up yet! There has to be _someone _we haven't asked yet!" Donny said.

"Oh, yeah? Who? We've asked everyone! Every single person who could possibly be considered as handsome is unavailable! Our last chance was Kurosaki's brother, and there is _no_ way I'm asking him for favors! Hell, I'm not even going to chance _looking _at him. There's no one else! Let's face it. We're doomed. The only way we can save our asses is if a bloody _angel_ fell out of the goddamned sky!" Ryohei replied.

_Beep._

Everyone froze, and then slowly looked up towards the very familiar sound, scarcely able to believe their good fortune.

There, sitting on Kurosaki's roof with the sun gleaming behind him, his pure white hair practically glowing, was God's gift to women, playing with his cell phone.

Hitsugaya Toushirou.

_Their salvation._

"IFA!" they all shouted in unison.

* * *

"For the last time, you will _not _refer to me by that ridic—"

"Please, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, _PLEASE, PLEASE, __**PLEASE **__**HELP US!" **_the boys screamed as one desperate entity.

"Please, you've _got_ to help us!"

"There's no one else!"

"You're our last hope, Toushirou!"

"I'll do _anything! _I'll even give you my entire collection of adult magazines! That's like five years' worth! _Five years!"_

"I don't wanna die!"

Hitsugaya looked at them in bewilderment as they prostrated themselves in front of him, promising to give him everything they owned, even the clothes off their own backs, if he'd just save them from their inevitable doom.

Clearing his throat, he managed to pry Pinta's hands off his foot before speaking. "Guys, I'd like to help you, really I would, but I have _no idea_ what you're talking about."

The boys stopped offering to sell their souls to him long enough to look at each other in confusion.

"Didn't we tell him what we wanted?"

"Yeah! I'm positive we did, right after we, uh—well, after we, um—right before we—uh, was it before or after we tackled him?"

The boys sat chagrined for a moment before Kazuya recovered enough to try to explain the situation.

"Oh, sorry about that, Toushirou, we were just a little…flustered. You see, we _really_ need your help with something."

"Yeah, or else Kurosaki will friggin' kill us."

"And sell our organs on the black market."

"And use our severed heads as soccer balls."

Hitsugaya watched, amused, as they calmly stated all the ways Karin would surely kill, mutilate, slaughter, and maim them if he left them to their fates. Despite the fact that Kurosaki could only kill them only once, they all honestly believed that she would find a way to not only hang them, but behead them at the same time.

Hitsugaya was about to stop their tirade as they started to describe _exactly _how Kurosaki would roast Kazuya's kidneys (since they were worthless on the black market) when his cell phone started to beeping madly.

_Hollows? And a lot of them from the sound of it. _

Hitsugaya glanced at his cell phone's screen to check the location before turning to the boys to make up an excuse.

"Sorry, guys, I can't help right now, something came up—"

The beeping stopped.

_What?_

He checked the screen before looking at the far side of the city where the hollows used to be. Several black flashes swept across the sky as a small black-clad figure ran around erratically. If you looked closely you could see a tuft of orange on top of it.

_Ichigo? What the heck is the strawberry-head thinking? It looks like he's using bankai! It's only a couple hollows for goodness' sake; going into bankai is complete overkill._

"Is Kurosaki _insane?_ How am I supposed to explain this to Seireitei?" Hitsugaya exclaimed.

"Um, did Karin do something, Toushirou?" Donny asked carefully.

"What? No, not _that_ Kurosaki. It's the other one with orange hair and absolutely zero brains. Doesn't he know how much trouble this would put me in? Something must have happened to push him over the edge. Kami-sama knows that it wouldn't have taken much."

Donny, Pinta, Ryohei, and Kazuya looked at each other guiltily.

"Uh, if Ichigo did something 'cuz he's angry, it's not exactly his fault…"

"As if being angry is an excuse to cause me this amount of paperwor—" Hitsugaya took in the guilty stares and shuffling feet and narrowed his eyes.

"What in the world did you do to him?" Hitsugaya said incredulously as Ichigo broke out his hollow mask and sent a Getsuga Tenshou the size of a house towards an unfortunate hollow. At this rate, he was going to be _buried_ in paperwork.

"We may have, um, _accidently _caused his girlfriend to…_mumble, mumble_."

"What?"

"We made Inoue Orihime break up with him!" they yelled.

"_How?_ Orihime has had a crush on him for forever!"

"Well, she may be a little less enthusiastic after we informed her about Ichigo's yearly subscription to _Busty_ _Beach_ _Babes,"_ Kazuya stated.

"His _what?_"

"We've been providing Ichigo with certain…items, in exchange for various services."

"You guys have been selling _porn_ to _Ichigo_? I didn't even know you guys talked to him. Is Ichigo into that sort of thing?" This was news. Karin never mentioned that. And what sort of "services" did Ichigo do? Never mind. He didn't want to know.

"Are you kidding? We met Ichigo five years ago. He's like the king of perverts. We rarely see him without him trying to plan a new way into the girl's locker room or some other scandalous escapade."

Wait, were they talking about the same Ichigo? Well, they had to be. It's not as if there were _two _Ichigos—

Oh, wait a sec. Didn't Karin say something about how Kon would land them harassment charges from all his perverted stalking? The Kurosakis were pretending that he was their cousin or something. Ryohei said they met Ichigo five years ago, so that would make it around the time Ichigo left for Soul Society. So Karin's minions probably met Ichigo's body while Kon was still in it…oh, great.

Hitsugaya took a deep breath before attempting to unravel the situation. "Guys, this might come as a shock, but you've probably never really met Ichigo. The person you know as Kurosaki Ichigo is actually Ichigo's identical cousin."

"…did Toushirou just try to make a joke?"

Hitsugaya scowled. "No, really. Ichigo has a cousin who looks _exactly_ like him except for his brown hair. And five years ago he dyed it orange to show 'family solidarity' or some other such nonsense. His name is Kurosaki Ichikon, but most people just call him Kon. "

"Yeah, right! Identical cousins? Stuff like that only happens in manga," Pinta scoffed.

"Their mothers were twins."

"None of the Kurosakis take after their dad that much…" said Donny uncertainly.

"Don't be stupid! It'd be impossible to mistake someone for someone else for _five years."_

"Did you actually call him Ichigo when you were around him?" Hitsugaya asked.

"Of course we did! Right, guys?"

"Actually, I think we just called him Kurosaki's brother, or Kurosaki-san."

"There," Hitsugaya said. "You never established his identity, did you?"

"But he said he was Kurosaki's brother!"

They all stopped and thought what Ichig—ahem, Kon, would say about that. Brother, cousin, what's the difference, neh?

"But, wait, if Ichigo is really this Kon person, then that means that the Ichigo we talked to just now…"

They paused for a few moments, progressing to the natural conclusion of that thought.

"We're dead," Ryohei whispered.

"Hey, it's not that bad. We knew he wanted to kill us before. It's just that now we know we actually _deserve_ to die."

"How does that make it better? We'll still dead by the end of it."

"Maybe he'll take it easy on us if we explained?"

"Would _you _take it easy on the people who ruined your relationship with the hottest babe on the planet? Besides, if he's anything like Karin, he'll have absolutely no mercy whatsoever."

"Yeah, they're both demons. Ah, no offense, Toushirou, some people like a little spunk in their women," Ryohei said with a sly glance towards his friend.

"What are you talking about?" Hitsugaya looked bewildered.

"Um, Ryohei can I talk to you for a second?" Kazuya said, pulling Ryohei aside.

"Are you insane? Kurosaki said that if we even hinted that there was anything between her and the IFA, she'd kill us, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, I remember now. I forgot."

"How could you forget?"

"Hey, Kurosaki threatens to kill us so often that the reason why doesn't really matter."

"He's got a point there. A day doesn't go by without Kurosaki threatening to have us disemboweled or something."

"Anyway, I was only joking earlier. Not like anything could happen between those two. Kurosaki only gets excited about boys if she can beat them up, and with Toushirou's looks, women would kill each other to get a piece of him. He could have anyone he wants. Hell, he could create his own personal harem of chicks and get away with it."

"Not everyone wants their own harem, Ryohei, that's just you."

"What! You can't fool me with that fake indifference! It's every teenage boy's dream to be surrounded by beautiful women who want nothing but to make you the happiest man in the world, if ya know what I mean. I'll bet you ten bucks that even Toushirou-kun has thought about it once or twice."

"Make that twenty bucks and you've got a deal." Kazuya folded his arms.

"Count me in," Donny seconded.

"Me too," Pinta stated.

"Hah! Watch and learn, my naïve little colleagues, as I, Toba Ryohei, will prove that under Hitsugaya Toushirou's icy exterior is another perverted teenager trying to get out and get laid!" yelled Ryohei. He walked toward Hitsugaya while rooting through his backpack.

"Take this! _Busty Beach Babe's_ May 2011 issue!" cried Ryohei. He opened the magazine and shoved it into Hitsugaya's face, bracing himself for the surely imminent spray of blood. It would be a shame to ruin this copy, but he could always buy another one with the sixty bucks he'd get from this bet.

Only the nosebleed never came. In fact, Hitsugaya seemed rather unaffected. Ryohei checked the magazine just to see if he got the wrong one by mistake, but no, this definitely was the right one.

"What are you idiots doing now?" Hitsugaya asked, exasperated. He shoved the magazine aside without sparing it a second glance.

"Toushirou, do you feel anything at all when you see this picture?" Kazuya asked smugly.

"No. Should I feel something?"

"Yes, you should! Your manhood and my sixty bucks are on the line here!" Ryohei said desperately going through his backpack for any possibly erotic pictures he could find.

"What about this one?"

"..."

"This one!"

"…"

"You've got to feel _something _for this one!" Pulling out his cell phone, Ryohei searched for anything that could interest Hitsugaya.

"Would you please stop with the—wait a second, is that Nel-san? Ah, no, it's just the green hair. Nel has a prettier face, and I don't think her…assets could fit into that small a bikini."

Ryohei stared at Hitsugaya in disbelief. More beautiful? With an even _bigger_ bust? What kind of school did Toushirou go to? Were all the students as stunning as the IFA? The lucky bastard…now if only he could find a way to enroll.

"Hahaha! See, I knew the IFA would be too disciplined to fall for such obvious temptations," Pinta said.

"Disciplined? This is way past disciplined and more like freaking unnatural. Don't you have _any _desire for the opposite sex, Toushirou?"

"Of course he does! It's not like he's gay… right?" Donny said.

The boys stared at Hitsugaya apprehensively.

Perfectly styled hair? Check.

Fashionable clothes? Check. (What kind of teenager wears a dress shirt and tie under his hoodie, anyway?)

Healthy appreciation of womanly curves? Surprisingly missing.

Conclusion? Hitsugaya Toushirou has been hitting for the other team.

Kazuya shook his head sadly. "It kind of makes sense. I mean, normally his relationship with Kurosaki would definitely be described as lovey-dovey. But if you look at it as a girl and her gay best friend, it fits."

"Yeah! And it explains why Kurosaki always adamantly denies anything about them. She knows he's gay and therefore a relationship is impossible."

Hitsugaya spluttered. "Hang on a second. I am _not_ gay!"

"It's okay, Toushirou, we accept you! It's perfectly natural. But do you mind if we don't change into our uniforms in front of you anymore?"

"Are you _listening_ to me? Give me that phone. I'll prove I'm not gay!" Hitsugaya snatched the cell from Ryohei and started to flick through the various pictures inside.

The gang watched as he continued to search through Ryohei's very extensive collection of perverted pictures for about five minutes, an almost bored expression on his face. Even as he went through the raciest pictures he didn't so much as blink an eye. They had pretty much decided that their suspicions were confirmed when Hitsugaya turned a shocking shade of scarlet and looked away from the phone.

What picture could have affected the impassive boy in such a way? Who was this goddess that had pierced through Hitsugaya's barriers so easily? The boys crept forward to peak at the image on Ryohei's phone.

"Hey, it's just that picture of Kurosaki in that really ugly black two-piece from when we went to the beach last summer!" Donny said.

"What the heck? Oh, I get it; he must have clicked to the next picture. Hurry, press the back button."

Pinta reached over Hitsugaya's shoulder and pressed the back button. And watched as Hitsugaya's blush receded back into his regular tan.

A suspicious silence welcomed this reaction and Ryohei pressed the forward button. And watched as the blood rushed back into Hitsugaya's face.

"…Kazuya, what does this mean?"

"Well, the good news is the IFA is straight and into girls. The bad news is that the girl he's into happens to be the Boss."

"Wait, so he isn't gay, he's just in _love? _With the _BOSS?_"

"Crap! I think I preferred it when he was gay!"

"Huh? Why?"

"A man in love is a dangerous instrument easily manipulated by his woman. With Toushirou wrapped around Kurosaki's pinky, she'll be freaking invincible!"

"Kami-sama, you're right! With Hitsugaya-kun entering the ranks of Kurosaki's menial slaves, she could take over the world! I mean he's not even an IFA anymore, he's—"

"A regular foot soldier."

"Not even approaching general status."

"Does this mean we have to call him the DFA now? Dependent Fellow Agent?"

Hitsugaya slowly counted to ten, then exploded. "What the hell are you guys talking about? I am not in love with Karin, and if you give me another stupid nickname, I will tear out your intestines and hang you with them!"

The boys stared at him.

"Hm. You know, actually, I think he might be able to handle her."

"Yeah! You're right! This is great! Now world domination is out of the picture again."

"But that still doesn't solve the problem of what are we're supposed to call him now."

"Maybe taichou? That works, yeah?"

"Okay, he's Toushirou-taichou from now on!"

"That's Hitsugaya-taichou to you!"

"Oh, he likes it!"

"That's it. I'm leaving."

"Wait! You can't leave. You have to help us with the carwash!"

"…why should I help you?"

"Because we're your friends!"

"…"

"Stop walking faster!"

"You owe us! We put that stupid dragon plushie on Kurosaki's desk on White Day! That thing was huge! The teachers kept on giving us weird looks! You totally owe us!"

"Technically, he doesn't. In fact, we owe him. It made Kurosaki laugh, which was good news for us."

"You're not helping the cause here, Kazuya."

"Just stating the facts, Pinta. Besides, he_ has_ to help us," Kazuya said, raising his voice so he could be heard by the rapidly moving figure ahead of them, "or we'll tell Kurosaki how he was drooling over pictures of her in a bathing suit."

Silence. Then came the tap-tap of returning footsteps.

"…so what exactly do you need my help for?"

Kazuya smiled. It was good when his plans paid off.

* * *

"Okay, now hold still, Toushirou."

"What are you doing with that buck—ahh!" Hitsugaya raised his arms in front of his face, but it didn't stop him from getting drenched by the slightly soapy water Ryohei had thrown onto him.

Kazuya surveyed their handiwork, nodding in satisfaction. "There. Now you're ready," he said, gesturing to the now see-through white T-shirt and clingy swimming trunks that Hitsugaya was wearing. "Girls will line up for miles to see this."

Hitsugaya just stood there with his arms crossed, glaring as water dripped from his shirt onto the concrete.

"…just remember, Toushirou, this is for the good of the cause."

Hitsugaya rolled his eyes. "Fine. Now what else do I have to do?"

"Oh, that's simple. You just have to wash cars and let the customers feel you up," Kazuya said on all seriousness. Pinta and the others nodded in agreement, with Ryohei looking rather envious.

"Pardon me, but I think I misheard you," Hitsugaya replied. "I could have sworn you said—"

He stopped in midsentence as a hand came out of nowhere and smacked the back of his head.

"You heard him just fine, Toush. Now stop complaining and get to work," drawled one Kurosaki Karin. "The customers are waiting and I want my money."

"General!" the boys yelled.

"I _told _you not to call me that—"

"Look, look, we managed to scrounge up the prettiest boy in town!"

"So we'll make a ton of money!"

"And we'll get the grand prize for raising the most!"

"I get to keep my liver, right?"

"Yes, yes. Good work guys. But Ryohei, I need you to get more towels. Pinta, man the hoses. Donny, get more buckets. Kazuya, help Midori-chan at the cash register. I think she's giving out unauthorized discounts to cute guys. Got that, everybody?"

They nodded.

"Good. Now scram!" And they rushed off to do her bidding like good little minions.

Hitsugaya watched her in amusement. "You really _are_ like a general, Kurosaki."

"Shut up, Toush. Stupid guys with their stupid codenames. Besides, you're one to talk, _IFA_."

He scowled. "At least yours makes sense. I don't even know what mine stands for."

"Intelligent Fearsome Alien? Something like that." She shrugged, then handed him a bucket and a sponge.

Sighing, he said, "Do I really have to subject myself to this?"

"What, menial labor? I knew you were a snob, Toush, but I didn't know you were afraid of hard work."

"Hard work—no. Sexual harassment—well, it's certainly annoying. I have enough trouble with that insane fan club that Matsumoto helped start. It's a good thing she can't see me now, or I'd really be in trouble. She'd take pictures and sell it on the black market."

"…"

"What?"

"…I'm just going to go check on Kazuya."

* * *

"Taiiiiichoooouu!"

Ryohei and the boys watched incredulously as the IFA was _enthusiastically_ embraced by a goddess whose proportions rivaled Inoue Orihime's.

"Dude, she just shoved his face into her boobs."

"So this is the reason why he's immune to porn. He lives it in real life!"

"That…that…that lucky bastard!" Ryohei wailed.

"He must have developed tolerance to it," Kazuya stated. "He's immune to busty girls. And since such beauty is obviously easily attainable, flat-chested, ahem, I mean _slim_ girls like the Boss," they looked over at Karin, who was currently beating up guys who'd gotten a little _too _friendly with the kendo girls, "must be infinitely more attractive."

"…that doesn't make any sense."

"Has the IFA and the Boss's relationship ever made any sense?"

Meanwhile, Hitsugaya was fighting to extricate himself from his fukutaichou's arms.

"Matsumoto! What are you _doing_ here?" he yelled, finally managing to shove her in the opposite direction.

She pouted. "Taiiichoooou! I'm just trying to help Karin-chan!"

"Help Karin—you mean she knew that you were here? And she didn't even have the decency to _warn_ me?"

"Well, yes. She is the one who recruited me and Orihime-chan to help out. Orihime-chan was really depressed for some reason, so I decided that I'd cheer her up with a shopping trip! But then we saw Karin-chan on our way to the mall, and she asked for our help, and Orihime-chan volunteered! She said it was the type of thing Ichigo liked, apparently! But now she won't come out of the changing room because her only options are a really tight tank top and shorts or a pair of Ichigo's old overalls, like the one Karin's changing into."

"Tank top?" Ryohei said hopefully.

"Overalls?" Hitsugaya said, also hopefully. _Oh, good. This way no one's going to ogle her…_

"She'll probably go for the tank top. She was saying how she was uncomfortable wearing something that used to belong to Ichigo. Ah, so innocent! I remember those days." Matsumoto sighed in nostalgia.

"Che. You never had innocence in the first place, Matsumoto," Hitsugaya said.

"Taichou!" she replied, scandalized. "How can you say such a thing!"

"Yeah, Toushirou, how can you say such a thing!" Ryohei said. "Obviously she's the picture of innocence!" He gestured to Matsumoto, who was wearing an admittedly skimpy outfit.

Hitsugaya blinked. "I knew you were dumb, Ryohei, but I never knew you were blind."

As Ryohei protested in outrage, Donny spoke up. "Say, Toushirou, how come you know, um, Matsumoto-san so well?"

"Aww, you can call me Rangiku-chan, it's perfectly fine," Matsumoto said, elbowing Donny as the poor boy turned bright red. "And I know Taichou here so well because—"

"Matsumoto! Don't you even dare!" Hitsugaya yelled. Shoot! He didn't have the memory modifier on him right now. If she spilled the beans…

"—because I'm his beloved older cousin!" she finished with a huge wink.

"She's not my fuku—what?" Hitsugaya said.

"Taichou's just a cute nickname I gave him when he became captain of the…the…the Seireitei Chipper Cheering Squad! When he was five! Oooh, you should have seen him with his sparkly pink pom-poms! He was so cuddly-wuddly!" She then proceeded to squeeze the life out of her "beloved cousin" in yet another indecent-looking hug.

"M-matsumoto! Gerroff!"

"And Inoue-san is…?" Kazuya inquired in a slightly dazed voice. The IFA used to be a cheerleader? With pink pom-poms? What kind of horrific childhood did he experience?

"Ah! She's our other cousin! We're staying with her during our annual visit! Isn't that right, Shirou-chan?"

"That's Hitsugaya-taichou to you!"

"Of course, of course…my, look at the time! I really should get going now. So many cars to wash, so many high school boys to flirt with…Anyway, it was lovely to meet all of you handsome youngsters." And with a final wave of her perfectly done nails, Matsumoto was off to mesmerize some other lucky mortals.

"IFA, you totally broke bromance law when you failed to inform us of your gorgeous cousins."

"Yeah! I mean, Inoue-san? With your help, we could have gotten introductions ages ago!"

"And Rangiku-chan! Ah, she is the eternal mistress of my heart!"

"Ryohei, I thought Ururu-chan was the eternal mistress of your heart."

"No, no, Ururu-chan is the light of my life, my reason for being, and the only exception to my C-cup rule! For her, I would even give up my playboy ways~~!"

"…yeah. We believe you—_not_."

"Hey! I am a man of my word and I would never—oh, bleep. Kurosaki's coming our way, and she doesn't look happy."

"Toushirou! Here, go get working on that car over there," Pinta said.

"Which car…?" said Hitsugaya.

"The one with all the girls in front of it!" Ryohei said.

"…"

"What?" Kazuya asked.

"They look like they want to tear me to pieces and eat my liver."

"No, they just want to tear your _clothes_ to pieces," Donny clarified.

"…that's not much better."

"Come on, you can handle it! Take one for the team!" the boys chorused.

Hitsugaya groaned. "I should never have listened to Kurosaki when she wanted me to help you guys with that soccer game."

The guys grinned at each other. "Man, we know_ exactly_ how you feel."

* * *

"Kyaaa! Kyaaa!" echoed the squeals of the fan girls.

Hitsugaya tried ignoring them and scrubbed furiously at a stubborn spot on a car window. But it was so difficult. Every time he wrung out the sponge, they squealed. Every time he wiped a window, they squealed. Every time he bent over to move the bucket, they squealed so damn loud he thought he'd go deaf.

And he didn't even want to remember what happened when Pinta came over with a towel, told him to take a break, dry off, take his shirt off so Kazuya could dry it, and here, he could wear this one in the meantime…

The girls went crazy when they saw him strip off. They went even crazier when they noticed he was staying that way, because there was no way on earth he was wearing a shirt with Rukia's chappy bunnies plastered all over it, and Pinta had already made off with his other one, and he was left there to stand half-naked as girls tried to mob him.

"Sorry, IFA!" Pinta had yelled. "Boss's orders! She says it'll lure in even more customers!"

He was never going to help Kurosaki and her friends ever again. Never. Never. NEVER.

Two hours into his indentured servanthood, Hitsugaya was already having fun imagining the various ways he would torture his so-called "friends." First, he would tear off Pinta's ears. Then he would sew Ryohei's mouth shut. Afterwards, he would shave off Donny's afro and shove it down his throat. And finally, he would slowly roast Kazuya alive…

"Hitsugaya-kun~~! I think you miiiissed a spot~~~!"

Scratch that. He would roast them _all_ alive. Then feed them to Eleventh Division.

"You can just reach it if you bend over a little more~~!"

Hitsugaya stopped and looked over at the customer. "Miss, if you would please—wait, didn't I see you before?"

The girl in question perked up. "Ooohh, it must be because you recognized me as your soul mate! Yes?"

He stared at her. "No. I think it was because you've already had this car washed an hour ago."

"Oh," she said, disappointed. "That might be it."

"But why would you get your car washed again…?"

"To see you, of course!" she replied, fluttering her lashes.

Hitsugaya could feel a vein pulsing in his forehead. No, no…stay calm, stay calm. The customer was always right. The customer was always right. The customer was—

"Hitsugaya-kun! Stop talking to her and rinse my car down!" another girl said in the car in front of them.

Who was he kidding? The customers were _insane_.

"No! He's going to wash my car first!"

"No! He'll wash mine!"

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

"MINE!"

And suddenly, Hitsugaya found himself surrounded by a bunch of rabid teenage girls who were clawing at every inch of him they could reach.

"Hey—! What are you—! Miss, please, not there! We have a no-touching policy!" Where was Kurosaki when you needed her? He tried pushing a couple of the girls away.

They only squealed louder.

"He touched me! He touched me!"

Kami-sama, they were worse than his fan club in Soul Society. No, they were even worse than Matsumoto!

"Please! Stop! What do you _want?_" he yelled in desperation.

Miracle of miracles, they stopped.

"We want you, obviously," a particularly blunt girl stated. The others nodded in agreement.

Hitsugaya stared blankly. What could he say to _that?_

"But all of you can't have me…" Unless they were planning on gang-raping him. He shuddered. If that was on their agenda, he was whipping out Hyourinmaru and going bankai, because there was no way he was going to let _that_ happen.

"Ummm...maybe we could share him…?" one suggested.

He reached for his gikon pill, then stopped as they all shook their heads.

"No, I want him for myself."

"Me, too."

"Me three!"

"Alright, alright, if we all agree to that, then we have to make him choose who he wants!"

"And he should hand over his phone number! And take her out on a date!"

"Yeah!"

They all looked at him expectantly.

He sighed mentally in relief. They were going to resolve this peacefully…or were they? They still looked kind of…violent, to say the least. Definitely fervent. And come to think of it, what would happen if he said he didn't want to date one of them? Or even if he chose one of them? Most likely, they'd just tear him and the poor girl to pieces anyway.

"Well? Who are you going to pick?"

"I…I…I regret to say that I can't choose any of you!"

Their eyes flared dangerously.

"Because I already have a girlfriend!" he said in a panic.

They suddenly looked devastated.

"Oh, no! He's taken!"

"Why didn't he say so in the first place?"

"How cruel! Getting innocent girls' hopes up like that, then dashing them upon the rocks!"

"What was the point of getting my car washed three times?"

"I want a refund!"

"Yeah, yeah!"

One of the girls looked tearfully at him. "Who is your girlfriend, Hitsugaya-kun?"

Oh, bleep. He hadn't thought this far ahead. Who was he gonna…spotting a familiar head of raven hair, he closed his eyes and mentally apologized. She'd have to forgive him later, but his life was on the line here!

Taking a deep breath, he calmly stated, "I'm with Kurosaki Karin. And if you want a refund, go ask her."

* * *

"I told you! You can't stand here and ogle our workers unless you've got a car to wash and a wallet to empty, you bastards!" Karin yelled, shaking her fist in emphasis.

She smiled smugly as said bastards either retreated or coughed up ¥500. She lovingly counted out the huge wad of cash, raising an eyebrow at Kazuya.

"This has got to be the most brilliant fundraiser you guys have devised yet. Good work."

Kazuya pushed his glasses up. "It was indeed a brilliant idea, Kurosaki. But of course, we owe most of its success to your recruitment of Inoue-san and Rangiku-chan."

She shrugged. "Come on, at least take some of the credit! After all, you recruited Toush, didn't you? I have no idea how you did that, by the way."

"Trade secret, Boss."

"Of course. How much money has he made me anyway?"

"¥1,000 in the last thirty minutes."

"¥1,000. That's great—wait, what? ¥1,000? Are you sure you aren't missing a couple of zeroes? He was making us ¥10,000 every ten minutes just an hour ago! And we haven't even started to auction off his shirt or any of the pictures Matsumoto took of him!"

"I don't know what happened, Kurosaki. But the facts are facts. Our revenue intake's slowing down. But don't worry, if we still have Inoue-san and Rangiku-chan's customers, we'll still make enough to beat the KBC and get the bonus."

Suddenly, they heard agonized screams in the background.

"K-kurosaki-kun! Please put him down! I'm sure he didn't mean to—!"

"You bastard! You—" and colorful swear words spewed forth. "Touch my girlfriend again and I'll bankai your ass!"

Karin groaned. "Who told Ichigo about this?"

"Um, I'm not sure, but I think he heard from your cousin, Kon, who was following Rangiku-chan."

"I'm going to kill that perverted stuffed lion, I really am," she grumbled. "Oh, look, here they come, ready to drag my bait off into the sunset."

Ichigo was dragging Kon and Ryohei behind him, making a beeline straight for Orihime. He tossed them in front of her and said, "Explain. Now. Or _else_."

And they did, of course. Ichigo's wordless threats were so much scarier when he let his prey imagine the consequences. And at the end of it, Ichigo restated his undying love and devotion, blah, blah, blah, and Rangiku was ecstatic and Orihime was joyfully tearful and everybody was going, "Awww." And then, of course, Ichigo took hold of Orihime's hand and was leading her off, telling her how nice she looked in his old overalls, but really they should be getting her home and out of them.

"Why, Ichigo-kun!" Matsumoto chorused.

"Not like that!" Ichigo spluttered.

"Of course, of course. Well, just to make sure I'm going to follow you!"

"Hell no!"

And there went two of her three prime money-makers. And she couldn't very well stop them when Orihime smiled so sweetly and said, "Thank you so much for letting me help out, Karin-chan! But I need to go home and make Rangiku-san and Hitsugaya-kun dinner! You and Ichigo-kun and Yuzu-chan are welcome later, of course!"

Of course.

"D-don't worry, Kurosaki. We still have Toushirou-kun!"

"Kurosaki-chan! You liar!" rang out a girl's outraged voice. "You said he was available. But he says he's _taken._ He says he has a _girlfriend._ He says it's _you!_ You! How could you sell off your own boyfriend!"

In response to this accusation, Kurosaki Karin crossed her arms.

Kazuya blinked. "Uh-oh." That was never a good sign.

"I'm sorry, Sumiko-san. He said _what_, exactly?"

* * *

Hitsugaya breathed a sigh of relief as the girls all went to the side and left him alone to wash their cars in peace. This was so much nicer than before when they were all mobbing him. And the line was even winding down a little. He could finally relax and—

"Toush. Just what do you think you're doing, telling everyone you're my boyfriend?"

He stopped, turned around, and saw that Karin was standing behind him with a sizeable crowd gathering to watch the spectacle. He raised a brow. "But I _am_ your boyfriend."

In response, she rolled her eyes, walked over, leaned in, and looked like she was going to pull him down by the scruff of his shirt before she realized he didn't have a shirt. So instead she smacked his shoulder and started whispering furiously.

"Look, I know that, and you know that, but nobody else is supposed to know that, especially when it's killing my profits. Besides, I thought we agreed to keep our 'togetherness' a secret until I died or we eloped. Didn't we say that Ichi-nii would try to kill you, Yuzu would fawn all over us, and Goat-chin would probably die of ecstasy? Not to mention the teasing we'd suffer from the guys, or worse, Matsumoto."

He whispered furiously back, "We did decide that, but my life was on the line, so I had to confess."

"Life on the line? Please, nobody was going to kill you. So they were a little over-enthusiastic. So what?"

"So they were going to knock me unconscious, kidnap me, then rob me of my virtue, which I'm saving for you, by the way."

"Awww, that's so sweet. Now prove your devotion by going back out there and telling them you were kidding."

"No."

"Toush, I'm warning you."

"I'm not doing it."

"Toushirou!"

"…"

"Fine! I didn't want to have to do this, but I'm going to break up with you."

"_What?_ No way! Do you know how long it took to convince you—"

"Not really break up with you, just fake break up! It's completely temporary and only until the car wash is over and I've got the money to buy kendo supplies."

"No. I refuse."

"Come on! Do it for the guys!"

Hitsugaya scoffed. "Oh, please. Like I owe them anything after the last two hours. More to the point, weren't you the one who was going to have your dad harvest their organs and sell them on the black market?"

"No, I wasn't!" Karin protested.

"Really?"

"Yes, really! I was going to have Urahara do it! Eliminate the middle man and all that!"

"How economical of you. But the point remains that I'm not going to help them—I'm going to torture them to death."

"Okay, okay. If not for them, why not do it for me?"

"You want me to fake break up with you just for _your _monetary gain? Is our relationship always worth less than material things to you?"

"Oh, come on! You know it's not like that! Besides, I'll make it up to you!"

"How?"

"After the car wash is done and over with, you and I can go to my room and play video games."

"…why are you wiggling your eyebrows like that?"

She scowled. "I'm trying to be suggestive!"

"What's suggestive about playing video games? Despite what your brother thinks, that _is _all we do in your room."

"And I'm saying we could do something _else_, if you would just help me."

"Like what? Go outside and play soccer with your friends?"

"No! We could…you know. But not you know, _you know_, just…you know."

"No, I _don't _know."

"We could...do stuff. Like...kissing."

"…Kurosaki, are you trying to compensate me with sexual favors?"

"Don't say it like that!"

"You're the one who brought it up."

"And it's not sexual favors, it's making out! That's perfectly respectable."

"Not according your brother."

"Who the hell does what he says? Besides, he's a hypocrite! As if he hasn't done _stuff _with Hime-nee. And stop avoiding the point! Are you going to break up with me or not?"

"Let me get this straight. You want me to publicly break up with you, but not really break up with you, so that I can get sexually harassed—whatever happened to the no-touch policy, anyway?—you can get your money, and your friends can keep their organs? And in return, I can do 'you know, you know' with you."

"Not you know, you know! Just you know!"

"…fine."

She looked at him, shocked. "Really?"

"Really." And he smiled smugly. "But you have to come up with a legitimate reason for breaking up with me. I'm not helping. And you can't say I'm cheating on you or anything that makes me look undesirable—because then I'll just be an idiot who doesn't know how to treat girls right, and none of your customers would want to touch me with a ten foot pole."

Meanwhile, the crowd was getting antsy. Kazuya and the others had the unfortunate job of trying to calm them down.

"Not to worry, I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of the issue soon…"

"They are together, aren't they! Look at how close they are! And what are they whispering about?"

"Now, now, let's not jump to any hasty conclusions…"

He threw frantic glances at Karin, hoping to somehow communicate telepathically the likelihood that the crowd was soon going to turn into a mob and kill him. She wouldn't want anyone to deprive her of the pleasure of causing his death herself, would she? And she still had to harvest his organs!

Oh, look! She was turning back around! Yes!

"Toushirou!" she exclaimed loudly. "I'm breaking up with you!"

Kazuya and the guys choked. Hitsugaya hadn't been lying in desperation? They were together? And now they were breaking up! Damn Toushirou! He hadn't even had the decency to tell them so they could tease him, and now the relationship was ending before their very eyes!

Oblivious to their death glares, Hitsugaya crossed his arms rather nonchalantly for a guy who was getting dumped in public. "Really? Why?"

"We have nothing in common!" she said triumphantly.

Hitsugaya looked at her incredulously. That's the best she could come up with? "We have the same taste in music, video games, even food. I like soccer, you love soccer. I'm good at kendo, you're good at kendo. You think your brother's an idiot, I think he's an idiot. You think your father's insane, I think he's insane. You think Matsumoto's an interfering busybody, and I_ know_ she's an interfering busybody who likes to drink and gossip. I like you, you like me. Isn't that enough?"

A couple of the girls in the crowd started sighing at the romance of it all.

Karin glared. "No! There are far too many differences for us to work out!"

"Like what?"

She hadn't thought this far. "You …you…you can cook better than me!"

"I don't hear you complain when I make pancakes for you."

"You…you've got a prettier face than I do!"

He blinked. "Kurosaki, are you blind? You're obviously more beautiful than I could ever hope to be."

"Awww!" went the fan girls, who suddenly switched from "Kill Whoever Gets Between Them and Their Prey" mode to "Support the Knight in Shining Armor in His Quest to Woo His Fair Maiden" mode.

"You…you…I…I…" She glared. This conversation was eerily beginning to resemble the one they'd had before she'd finally capitulated and went out on a "date" date with him.

"Yes?" He smirked.

Annoyed, she yelled the first thing that came into her head. "You like Portobello mushrooms!"

He stared at her in disbelief. "_That's _why you're breaking up with me? Because I happen to like Portobello mushrooms?"

"Yes! It's unnatural!"

"But your sister cooks them all the time!"

"No, she doesn't!"

"Yes, she does. We had them for dinner last night."

"How do you even remember that stuff?"

"How do you not?"

"Well, excuse me for being too busy talking to you to notice what we were eating!"

The crowd took in this new information. This relationship had to be serious if she'd already taken him home, but she was still determined to break up with him? He seemed like the perfect guy for her!

"I love Portobello mushrooms!" a random girl screamed, before she was hastily shushed.

"Shhh! You don't want to ruin this! Come on! Look how cute they are together! They're soooooo adorable!"

Kazuya and co. weren't sure about that, but at that precise moment they didn't care, since they were making a _ton_ of money from all of the people who were coming to watch the break-up in progress. At this rate, they'd beat the KBC five times over! Now for the big finale!

"Name one reason we shouldn't be together," Hitsugaya stated.

"I hate being in a long-distance relationship!" she replied.

"Why?"

"Because! I never get to see you!"

"Isn't that a reason to stay together?"

"Not when I'm miserable half the time!"

"But we've gotten to see each other more lately. And it'll be better after you graduate from high school and we go to the same college." Or rather, she could attend the Shinigami Academy, and he could spend lots of time checking up on the newbies.

"This relationship isn't going anywhere! We don't even have any concrete plans for the future!" she retorted. _Stop making this so difficult_, her glare seemed to say.

He raised a brow. _Not my fault we're perfect for each other_, he seemed to convey. Out loud he said, "I thought we were going to elope?"

"Hey! I thought we said we wouldn't tell anyone that—oh."

He smirked in victory. "What was that you said about not having plans?" He then proceeded to give a speech on all the reasons why they shouldn't break up, logically speaking.

She opened her mouth to interrupt, but stopped after she saw Kazuya desperately waving his arms behind the crowd. He was definitely mouthing something…what was he trying to say?

_Kill him! Kill him!_

No, no, that couldn't be right. She continued to look at them quizzically.

Kazuya threw his hands up in the air, then grabbed Donny and pretended to—oh! Oh! They meant kiss him! Kiss him!

Wait a minute, were they crazy? What would happen to their profits then?

Kazuya, reading her mind, held up huge wads of cash and pointed to the many people surrounding them. Oh, she got it. They were prime entertainment, she and Toushirou, and the crowd had gathered to watch them. And now that all their cars were washed, they wanted the show to end on a happy note…but how to get that to happen…

She smiled evilly. Oh, this was going to be so much fun.

As soon as Hitsugaya stopped talking, she cut in. "You know, I do have a good reason for breaking up with you."

He lifted his brows. "Oh? Care to enlighten me?"

"Yes." Her grin widened. "You're a bad kisser."

As the crowd gasped at this latest revelation, Hitsugaya tilted his head to the side and looked bemused. "Kurosaki, I don't think you'd actually be able to judge that, seeing as we haven't even kissed yet."

She lifted her chin, a challenge in her eyes. "So? Let's make a deal. If I'm right, then we break up. But if you prove me wrong, then I'll stay with you."

He glanced at the crowd, then turned back to her. "Now?"

"Why? Too chicken?" she said, walking closer.

"I just feel the timing and the setting could have been a bit better," he said, leaning in anyway.

"Toush." They were standing toe to toe, looking into each other's eyes. Somehow, the crowd didn't even seem to be there—whenever they were this close, it was like they were the only ones in the world.

"What?"

"Just shut up and kiss me."

And he did, much to the approval of the crowd, which erupted with cheers and cat calls.

Karin didn't hear them. She was too busy enjoying, ahem, _playing video games_ with her boyfriend.

After a minute or so had passed, they pulled apart. She looked up at him. "Okay, you win."

He smirked. "Does this mean you'll stop trying to break up with me?"

She grinned in reply. "Who said I was breaking up with you?"

* * *

Amidst all the applause and fanfare, Ryohei casually nudged his fellow soldiers.

"What do you want now, Ryohei?" Donny asked in exasperation.

"Yes, yes, what do you want?" seconded Kazuya, who was busy counting up his money. He could keep his kidneys! Oh, joy of joys!

"Seriously, Ryohei, would you just spit it out already?" said Pinta.

In response, Ryohei held out his hand, palm up.

"Pay up, my friends. I _told_ you that Toushirou was really a horny bastard!"

* * *

**Endnote: OVER TEN THOUSAND WORDS! TEN THOUSAND WORDS! Ahhhhhh! We're even further from the drabble goal than last chapter. T.T**

**Well, we hope you enjoyed it anyway. And we hope it makes up even a little for our loooong absence. Sigh. Senior year was a fright. D: We hope to do better this summer and finally finish a couple of our stories (though at the rate FM is going, we'll be finished with it in a decade, especially if the chapters keep getting longer). **

**But besides that-has anyone seen episode 316 of the anime? If you haven't, go watch it! It's like the new 132! KYAAAAAA! I love the people in charge of the anime—at least some of them have got to be HitsuKarin shippers! :DDD But seriously, some of the things that popped up in that anime seriously reminded us of stuff we wrote before we even watched it—honest to God! It's just like the author Terry Pratchett says: "It's hard to make stuff up." :)**

**We'd like to thank the following people for alerting, reviewing, or adding this story to their favorites list: anna1594, Turtle-chan in Blue, meggie-moo s, Shizuku700, SilverDragonEyeCardSpiritWolf, Ability Writer KK, strawberryfishcakes, Tempest Rose, ichilover3, Thelanblossom, lazyguy90, gabi1010, othchick11, Evslayer, roystealer, KittyRiotLuvsYew053, Red-Haired-Jack, ScienceAngel, Doremon, oOoHKoOo, DeathMeetsLife, kiri123, fanofanime, Ginevra1988, SomeRandomPerson053, Vilutski, fleurdefeu, amirasyaz, chiharuSAICHI, alexsstrawberry, PunkRockHolly, paws-bells, Quiet Moon, kusanagi10, ThePeopleStillSleeping, MorningStar04, LabsbyEiree, KKH913, Reiuko, kikumarubazooka, kmz, lazyflower, Theoracle-san, bleach-gurl-katie, myrrdinowl, Lost-Lullabies, FuyuKiba, KazeNoSakura, soulful100, MisplacedWit, PhelpstwinsandElftwins, misskarolinax, PersephoneWhitlockCullen, Photophobic, puma1sunfire, Sayo-chan64, SkyDancer101, whitewolf207, Cereza2000, Ellardis Merithdire, rimiish, bjacobs101, grayqueen, -xox. Sinnae .xox-, Queen Daenerys, Vampqueen27, Mew Angels Crystal Tears, KairiOliver, elarhy, crayontesla, RosieLEK, WickedWitchVictoria, Gritsapot2293, Ryfee, Rose Zaki, Candy1243, SilentMadness, Daydreamer91794, VanDerAa, xx gold phoenix xx, pika09, BlacknWhiteCheckers, Mello's-Dark-Chocolate, Kanarekana, RandomDudleGrl08, soulraven98, Eye of a Hawk, HisugayaDream, thepenultimatefailure, Lovely In'Sanity, sannros, mets986, HitsuKarin Lurver, assira, pocu, Kiwi-kiwi-kii, NoCoolNameHere, xLollipopful, TheGreenElephant911, inuyashafiend, Hakkuchi, FairoNeko, penholder4, SweMiKi, HitsuKarinluv, amputated-heart, Goku's Halo, Alexmommy, InThatMomentISwear, Unicorn's Whisper, Tori-Chan-Madrigal, Guptanation, Lilith-Lunette, and Hitsukarin and Ichiruki lover. Thank you to everyone who's read this drabble series as well. :D**

**(If we've forgotten you or spelled your name wrong, PLEASE TELL US! Seriously, I feel so guilty when I notice I forgot somebody or got their name wrong. T_T)**

**Note: Certain pen names, namely those with a period in the middle, have been spelled wrong so that Document Manager will not erase them. We apologize to anyone who is offended by this.**

**Thanks for reading, and please review! :D**


	17. West

**Author's Note: Hi, everybody! We're back with yet another one-shot! Number seventeen, woot, woot! How many more do we have to go…? Whatever, we're nearly at twenty! :D**

**This prompt is courtesy of Vilutski, so it's dedicated especially to her. It is an Old West AU, so we'll also be using the Western order for names (first names first, last names last). Karin will be around twenty-two in this fic, Hitsugaya around twenty-five. Warning: There will be shootin', cussin', and jail-breakin'. For those of you who thought this would be a bit more serious, we are sorry to disappoint you, but this thing is yet another comedic work (maybe next time…?). But for those of you who wished to see more of Kazuya, Donny, Pinta, Ryohei, and Kon, this story is for you! :D (If anyone would like to give me a prompt, just PM me. It'll probably take a while to get written, what with the ten or so requests I've got waiting, but it'll pop up, promise! :) **

**Summary:**** "Alright," Karin said, raising her voice so everyone could hear her. "We set out at dawn." "An' the plan is...?" Her grin got wider. "Why, we'll just waltz on in and bust him out!"**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong solely to Tite Kubo. However, I do own the official bootleg now, and if there was an alternate universe where I do own Bleach, I will promptly give my left arm to switch with my other self. :)**

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen: West**

* * *

"Look, Kurosaki, me n' the other guys are thinking that this, uh, this…job…might be a bit too dangerous. We don't want to end up on the wrong end of a noose now, do we?" Ryohei said, a tad bit hesitant. He eyed his posse leader's hands nervously. They were placed right on her hips—far too close to her pistols for comfort. His boss wasn't called Quick-Draw Karin for nothing—she could pull a gun faster than a man could blink, and keep her head cool and her aim steady while she was at it, too.

Oh, no. He could see her fingers twitching already. Maybe getting caught and hung was the preferable option after all, compared to getting shot here and now…

"You boys chickening out on me, Ryo?" Karin asked in a deceptively calm voice.

Oh, _no._ He was so dead! Why the hell did he have to be the one to tell her that he and the others thought it was suicide to try and bust Kon out of jail? Stupid rock-paper-scissors game! He just_ knew_ that Donny had cheated somehow!

Taking a deep breath, he tried to continue in the face of Karin's icy stare.

"N-no! We're totally not chickening out on you! Us, cowards? Never! We'll follow you anywhere…it's just, we'd rather it be anywhere but Seireitei County," he said. "No thief's ever made it out of that place alive. I mean, even your brother didn't make it out!"

"Yeah, but that's because they recruited him to be a damn deputy! It's not like he's dead, though he might as well be! He's a good-for-nothing traitor!" Karin yelled.

"Ummm…you're the only person in your family who thinks that, you know. Your dad and Yuzu were completely ecstatic when he gave up robbing banks," Ryohei pointed out.

"Shut up!" she snarled, letting her feet thud from the table onto the floor.

"Shuttin' up now, Boss," he said, pulling his cowboy hat over his eyes.

Karin gave a long, low sigh. "Look. It's not like we're even going to Seireitei itself. We're just heading to its Tenth Outpost. And I don't want to take this big of a risk, either. But Kon, in addition to being my idiot of a cousin, also happens to be the best get-away coach driver west of the Mississippi. And he was driving away our coach at the time he managed to get himself arrested—which had _all_ our loot in it. Not to mention we decided to let him be the only one to know the safe's combination code, since he seemed to be the one least likely to get caught."

"A plan that has completely backfired on us," Kazuya yelled from the other room.

Karin cocked her gun.

"Shuttin' up now," Kazuya said.

Karin tilted back on her chair. "That no-good, yellow-belly cousin of mine wouldn't've got caught if that new sheriff knew what was good for him," she muttered. "Honestly, I can't believe the Outpost finally got somebody _competent_ for a change. Do we know what happened to the other sheriff, old what's-his-name?

"Omaeda…?" Ryohei asked.

"Yeah! Him!"

"Uh…I think they found out he was takin' bribes, so they had that girl assassin of theirs put him out of commission. Shot his hand as a warning."

"They had the Black Bee take him out? Soi Fon? Damn." She shook her head mournfully. "Too damn bad. With just a couple of Yuzu's homemade cakes, we could've stolen his pants and he'd've looked the other way." She sighed, then continued. "Anyway, the important thing is that we have to get Kon out, no getting around it. So who's with me?"

Ryohei said, "Well, if you're certain 'bout it…"

She shot him a death glare.

He sighed. "Then we're in."

She grinned, that crazy, daredevil grin of hers that made him want to find a nice, comfortable hole in the middle of nowhere to crawl into. It was the grin that got them into this mess in the first place: "Guys, that rich idiot's coach is just beggin' us to rob it—how can we let such a chance pass us by?" Then they'd led the sheriffs on a merry chase and got away, while Kon had driven in the opposite direction and gotten himself arrested for speeding. Speeding, for the love of God! It was stupidest dangnabit thing he coulda done…and now they had to up an' rescue him…and Kurosaki had that grin on her face…and he was so gonna lose his other pinky toe, wasn't he?

"Alright," Karin said, raising her voice so everyone could hear her. "We set out at dawn."

"An' the plan is...?"

Her grin got wider. "Why, we'll just waltz on in and bust him out. We just have to drop by Yuzu's place and get a couple of things."

_Yuzu_ was going to be involved in this? Ryohei took his hat off and closed his eyes, breathing a quick prayer to God almighty that they get outta this escapade alive—with all his body parts intact, if God was feelin' kindly. He had a feeling it wasn't happenin', though.

**.**

**.**

**.**

_The Next Day_

Toushirou Hitsugaya, the newest sheriff of Seireitei County, having completed his pile of paperwork, decided to try and spend the rest of the cloudy afternoon napping.

Let's repeat that: trying.

"Let me out! I didn't do anything wroooong! I'm innocent! Innocent, I tell ya!"

Sheriff Hitsugaya could feel his eyebrow twitch. For God's sake, it was his first week on the job, and already he was stuck with a moronic, insane, and above all, _noisy_ son-of-a-gun for company. Whose bright idea was it to have jails and sheriff's offices be in the same building?

"I'm not meant to be caged up like this! I'm a free spirit!"

Alright, deep breaths, keep calm, just ignore—

"Let me out! Let me out! Let me oooooouuuut!"

Hitsugaya slammed his hands down on his desk. "Shut up before I pull out this gun and kill you!"

Blessed silence.

He sighed and settled deeper into his chair, getting comfortable, then—

"You can't do that," his prisoner said, his suspicious gaze peering out from beneath his ridiculously over-sized cowboy hat. A bright red bandana was tied over his mouth and chin, presumably to keep out the dust while he rode. "It's _illegal_. Innocent until proven guilty, and all that horseshit."

Hitsugaya scowled. "Let me remind you that in this town, I am the appointed legal executor on behalf of Seireitei County." He glanced at the man behind the bars, who just stared at him blankly. He couldn't even curse the prisoner's name, because the miscreant had refused to give it to him. Honestly, he blurted out every other thing that came into his mind, but his name and what he'd been doing driving a speeding coach down Main Street remained a complete mystery.

"So?"

Patience, patience. "So that means my word is law. I will act as your witness, your judge, your jury, and God be willing, your executioner as well."

The criminal seemed to take offense at that. "You's don't have to use them fancy words, man! Just talk plain."

"Very well. How is this for plain? If you don't shut up, I will kill you, and nothing will happen to me."

The man gasped, then proceeded to scream at the top of his lungs, "Help! Help! He's gonna murder me! He's gonna murder me! And I ain't gonna see the blue of the sky ever again! Nor ride freely into the sunset! And I ain't ever gonna get drunk again! And I ain't ever gonna see the glorious goddess of beauty ever! Never! Oh, the tragedy! Someone help me! I ain't done nothin' _wrong_! Well, maybe a few things here and there but…I ain't done nothin'! I don't deserve to die! HEEEEELP! MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

_Bang._

"Oh, my God! He shot me! He shot me! I'm bleedin'! I'm dyin', oh, Lordie, help me, I'm dyin'! Why, sweet baby Jesus, why does it have to end like this? Oh, oh, it hurts, it hurts…I feel so cold…oh, I can see my life flashin' before my very eyes…" the prisoner moaned.

Outside, the crash of thunder could be heard, and the cloudy skies finally opened up and let the rain come pouring down. Hitsugaya couldn't tell which was louder—the howling wind or the howling man.

"Will nothing shut you up?" Hitsugaya asked incredulously. "And stop your whining; the bullet didn't even touch you."

The idiot looked down at himself. "A miracle! I'm alive!" Then he glared at Hitsugaya. "You varmint! You tried to shoot me! What kinda no good sheriff are you?"

"Believe me, if I'd wanted to shoot you, you'd be dead." Well, actually, that wasn't accurate—Hitsugaya had wanted to shoot him. Very, very much. But that wouldn't have been true justice, no matter what his ears were telling him.

The prisoner went on, ignoring him. "I can't believe what the world is comin' to! Innocent folks getting' shot at and preached to and jailed without cause!"

"There was plenty of cause, you reckless idiot! You almost ran over a seven-year-old, an old woman, and a puppy—three times each!" Hitsugaya yelled.

"It wasn't me! It was somebody that looked just like me! Or, or, somebody who took over my body! Yeah! That must've been it! Ask anybody!"

"Why, you—" Hitsugaya lifted his gun again.

"Don't shoot! Don't shoot! What kinda person would shoot an unarmed man?" The jailbird stopped for a second, appearing to think about something. (If Hitsugaya could read minds, he'd have seen a black-haired girl in pants pointing a rifle at the prisoner and pulling the trigger as he hopped from foot to foot: "I'm sorry, Karin! Stop shootin'! Unlike Ryo, I need my pinky toe!")

"If the unarmed man is you, a sane one," Hitsugaya muttered, then cocked the gun again. He took a moment to enjoy the look of terror in the inmate's eyes before putting his gun away. He sighed yet again. When did he become such a sadist? He reasoned that it must have happened sometime in the last 36 hours, shortly after he apprehended the miscreant currently making his life a living hell.

He got up and walked over to the cell's door. "Look," he said. "If you'll be quiet for the next two hours, I'll let you go with a seven dollar fee, alright?"

"Can I get my coach, too?"

"_No."_

"Then no's my answer, too." He took a deep breath, then, "Heeelp! Heeelp! The man's stealin' my property! My livelihood!"

"Fine! Fine! I'll release you and your coach for a twenty-five dollar fee if you just _shut up!_"

The aggravating man shot him a sideways glance. "Make it twenty and you got yourself a deal, partner."

"Fifty dollars, or we go back to the original deal where I shoot you."

"Hey! You just—!"

He cocked the gun.

The man glared at him. "You're just like my little cousin, you know that?" He shook his head, then spat in his hand and stuck it through the bars. "Done!"

"…"

"You're supposed to shake it!" The cowboy wiggled his hand up and down.

"…you will be quiet, and I will go back to my desk and pretend the last thirty-six hours never happened."

"Sure, partner." And with that, the imprisoned man threw himself onto the cot, crammed his hat tighter over his head so it covered just his eyes, and promptly fell asleep.

Hitsugaya, true to his word, went back to his desk and also tried to sleep. But then...

_Hnooork. Hnoooorrrk._

What was that abominable noise? It seemed, yet again, to be coming from the prisoner. The insufferable man was snoring, if you could even call that snoring. It sounded more like a pig getting smothered to death.

Hitsugaya marched over, dug out the keys, opened the cell, walked in, pulled up the man's bandana, gagged him with it, covered the idiot's face with the pillow, then marched back out and shut the door. He sat down at his desk and laid his head down on his arms.

Finally. _Peace._

Then—

Thump. Thump. Thump. Oh, Lord, someone was knocking at the door. Who could be out in the rain at this hour? Whoever it was, he was going to hang them, the consequences be damned.

Throwing open the door, he yelled, "What do you want _now?"_

Only to instantly regret it as a trembling young woman looked up at him, soaked to the bone because of the rain, in spite of the miniscule umbrella she held over her head.

"I-I'm sorry," she stuttered. "But m-may I please come in, sir?"

**.**

**.**

**.**

"How are you feeling now? Better?" Hitsugaya asked conscientiously.

His guest nodded and curled her hands around the mug of warm coffee he'd just brewed. She took a sip, and then coughed slightly.

"I'm sorry," Hitsugaya said, chagrined. "I don't have any creamer, so black's all I can give you."

"N-no, no!" The young woman shook her head. "This is more than adequate. It's my fault, after all, barging in here and taking advantage of your hospitality, Sheriff Hitsugaya."

"No, um, it was my pleasure entirely," he said before turning away to hide his blush. She's called him _Sheriff_ Hitsugaya. He liked that. Unlike certain people he could name (Matsumoto, Momo, Ichigo), this girl knew how to respect authority.

In a much better mood than he had been just twenty minutes previously, he grabbed a pad of paper and a pen off of his desk before he made his way back. He sat in the chair next to hers and noticed that a little more color was back in her face, though she seemed to be pale-skinned naturally. She stretched out a hand to the fire he'd started up for her, then clutched the spare blanket he'd found a little tighter across her shoulders.

"Ahhh," she breathed. "It's so much warmer now."

"Glad to hear so, Miss…?"

Her eyes widened. "Oh! I didn't introduce myself! I'm sorry. Um, I'm Miss Kurosaki. It's a pleasure to meet you!" She stuck her hand out to him, the very picture of earnestness.

He smiled at her as he shook it. "And what brings you to my door, Miss Kurosaki?" He paused. "Wait a minute. Kurosaki…any relation to Ichigo Kurosaki?"

She smiled broadly. "Yes! He's my older brother!"

"Ah, I see." He observed her more closely. "You don't really look a lot like him."

Her smile widened. "Missing the scowl?"

He chuckled. "Yes, exactly."

She settled back into the chair. "You must know him well, then."

"Well enough." He saw no need to tell her how absolutely infuriating her brother was. "He's mentioned you and your sister a couple of times. You must be Yuzu."

"Why do you say that?" she asked, curious.

"Because you look like a respectable sort of young lady."

Her smile dimmed. "And my sister is not..?"

"Uh…" How did he get himself into this situation? He shouldn't have mentioned anything at all! Of course she would be upset—he was nearly insulting her twin, who she probably still loved and missed. It wasn't her fault the middle Kurosaki child was an outlaw.

He continued cautiously. "Well, she is a rather famous bank robber. Quick-Draw Karin, so elusive they've never even managed to get a good enough glimpse of her to sketch up a wanted poster. The black sheep of the Kurosaki family."

"The black sheep, huh?" she repeated, her voice soft and sad. She turned her face away and reached up to pull her bonnet tight against her head, dislodging a few strands of raven hair from her braid. "She certainly is that."

**.**

**.**

**.**

Black sheep? _Black_ sheep? She'd show him black sheep!

It wasn't even an accurate term! She was more like the only sheep who'd show her true colors. The rest of them were black sheep who'd gotten themselves bleached! Her father used to be the best shot in the entire tri-county region—he'd killed dozens of people in illegal duels! And Ichigo! Ichigo used to be more infamous than she was! For God's sake, he used to be the Masked Bandit, terrorizing every bank west of the Mississippi! Only Yuzu could be considered a white sheep, and even then she was kind of grey. After all, it wasn't as if Jinta would've proposed to her if she hadn't gotten out the shot gun…

She stilled her rambling thoughts, then pasted on a small smile to show Sheriff Hitsugaya and hide her desire to shove his pointy badge down his throat.

"But I'm not here to discuss my sister," she said instead, sliding her eyes demurely away from his face and fluttering her lashes a little. (And what a face! Even if he was prematurely grey. Or white. Women would still flock for miles around to look at him—which was convenient. More women meant more jewels to steal.) She took a deep breath, making sure her chest heaved nicely. He didn't bat an eye. Hm. Many she just wasn't his type? Oh, well, it didn't hurt to try and use her feminine wiles. "I'm actually here to file a missing persons report."

"I see," he said, jotting some notes down. "And may I have a description of this person?"

"It's my cousin, Kon Kurosaki. He's tall, with orange hair? He looks a lot like my brother," she said. She deliberately kept her eyes away from the cell behind her, where Kon was sleeping like the dead, though the gag around his mouth stopped his snoring. Thank God for that small favor.

"Any other descriptive details?"

"Um…he talks a lot?" It was so difficult to talk softly and hesitantly and basically act like some polite young miss. She missed her pants, and her hat, and her spurs, though she still had on her boots. They were hidden under the skirts of her ridiculous dress. She'd also managed to sneak in one of her pistols in the little…reticule…? Is that what the little hand purse thingie was called?

Whatever.

At least her job wasn't that complicated. All she had to do was keep the sheriff distracted while Pinta and the others got the locks off the coach, which was parked behind the building. As soon as they signaled they were done, she'd pull out her gun, point it at Sheriff Hitsugaya's pretty face, grab the keys, bust Kon out, then they'd high-tail it out of there!

It was a brilliant plan, if she said so herself. Sure, it had a few holes here and there, was a little vague on the details, etc., but that only made it easier to improvise in the face of unexpected contingencies.

Oh, the snowflake was saying something again. She focused back on him.

"Tall. Orange hair. Looks like Idiot-Head—I mean, Ichigo. Talks a lot." At the last sentence, he paused suddenly and looked back up at her. "Talks a lot, you say?" He stared at her intensely.

She nodded. "Wouldn't shut up even if you shot him." She froze, then carefully continued, "Not that I've ever shot him, of course." (This was strictly true. She'd shot _at_ him, which was a different matter entirely.)

"Of course," he replied, starting to grimace before he caught himself and glanced back at her. He cleared his throat. "I believe I may have some good news for you, Miss Kurosaki."

"Really?" She widened her eyes, and hoped they looked hopeful instead of bug-eyed.

It seemed to work. Not that she could tell with Mr. Impassive.

"Yes. I know where your cousin is."

"Mm-hm." She leaned forward, trying her best not to roll her eyes. Of course he knew where Kon was—the idiot was dreaming away in the cell behind her!

The sheriff took a deep breath and continued. "But I also have some bad news for you. You see, I have apprehended your cousin for misdemeanors against the County, and he's sleeping in that cell over there, just behind you." He pointed helpfully and she dutifully turned around.

Okay. Phase one complete. Now to the hard part. She threw herself out of her chair and ran to the cell, shaking the bars. "Oh, no! Oh, no!" she gasped. "You have to let him out! Please, sir!" God, she hated sounding so helpless. She reminded herself of a mindless ninny!

"I'm afraid I can't do that, miss. You see, since I've started my job as sheriff, I've witnessed on eleven different occasions your cousin's reckless disregard of the speed limit—

"Eleven! That's so many!"

"—and I started my job less than two days ago. He almost caused three fatalities."

"Oh, no! I'm sure it's not his fault! He's innocent, I'm certain! Karin probably made him help her perform one of her wicked, wicked deeds!" Not strictly true. She had dragged him into it, but Kon was in no way_ innocent_. "Please, I'm sure he's sorry!"

The sheriff was giving her a weird look. Was she overdoing the act?

"Miss, I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but your cousin's existence alone could be considered a crime against humanity," he said bitterly.

Oh. He'd definitely gotten to know Kon a little, hadn't he?

"In fact, your aunt should've drowned him at birth."

Ah. More than a little, it seemed.

"I nearly shot him myself. And you're right—shooting him probably wouldn't have gotten him to shut up. As it was, I only got some peace and quiet after I gagged him."

Well. He could practically be considered an expert on her cousin now, couldn't he? Though she couldn't actually say she disapproved of his methods. Actually, she was considering trying them out herself…

Oh, look. The sheriff seemed to be calming down after his brief but eloquent tirade. "I'm sorry, Miss Kurosaki. I don't mean to misalign your cousin. It's just that he's so damn annoying."

"Oh, no." She placed a hand on his arm. "You're completely forgiven. I love him, and he means well most of the time, but Kon can be a little…well, I wouldn't be honest if I said I've never imagined what attending his funeral would be like."

"A completely joyful occasion?" He smirked at her.

She grinned back. "Yes. At times, it does seem that way."

Their moment of complete understanding was ruined by, of course, Kon. Who rolled off the bed and promptly woke up.

And then he started yelling incomprehensibly. "Mmmrf! Mmmrf! Me's mokin' me! Me's mokin's me!"

Translation: "Ahhh! Ahhhh! He's chokin' me! He's chokin' me!"

Karin rattled the bars of the cell. "Kon! Get your ass—I mean, wake up! It's a nightmare!"

"Mrighmware?"

"Take the bandana off!"

The message finally got through, and her idiotic cousin ripped off the bandana. "Oh, li'l cuz, it's you! I had a nightmare! I got arrested and I was in jail and I got shot by the white-haired demon from hell and—oh, my God, that's him right next to you! The midget himself!" he yelled, pointing straight at Hitsugaya.

"Why, you…" Hitsugaya muttered, reaching for his pistol with the obvious intent of shooting Kon's tongue off.

"Wait! Don't shoot him!" she shouted. She needed Kon in one piece! Thankfully, she managed to push his arm down before he actually did anything.

"Oh, right, right. He's your cousin." Hitsugaya sighed, the sound regretful. Then something seemed to occur to him, and he shot a suspicious glance at Kon and a hopeful look at her. "Wait, he _is_ your cousin, isn't he? I couldn't tell because his hat's covering his hair and his bandana was covering his face…"

Karin wasn't paying too much attention to him, as she'd spotted Donny poking his head through the window directly behind Hitsugaya.

Yes! They were successful! Now Donny was pulling out his rifle and—oh, Lord help her, the idiot was trying to take out the sheriff!

"…though he still doesn't look much like Ichigo. Maybe it's the vacant expression…? Miss? Miss? This is your cousin, yes?" Hitsugaya asked her.

"No!" she yelled at Donny.

"No?" both Hitsugaya and Kon exclaimed, the former rather hopefully and the latter in complete shock.

Kon continued yelling. "What are you talkin' 'bout? Of course I'm your cousin! How could you forget that, K—oof!"

Hitsugaya watched, baffled, as Karin rammed her umbrella through the bars and stabbed Kon in the stomach. She ignored him and proceeded to prod her cousin harder. Honestly, what was the idiot thinking, nearly blowing her cover like that?

"Of course you're not my cousin, Kon! You're more like my brother, ever since Ichigo up and abandoned us! Though now I'm considering disowning you! Do you know how worried Auntie and I have been, looking everywhere for you? And how do I find you? A criminal! Locked up for nearly running over innocent people! Why, you've brought shame down upon the Kurosaki name. Now people will point to me in the streets and say, 'That poor _Yuzu_—her entire family's made up of criminals.' Is that how you want me to be known? As poor _Yuzu_?" She punctuated each word with a jab to his stomach. As a result, after her long speech, Kon's guts were rather bruised. Karin considered it his just desserts, and besides, he got the message, didn't he? Kon's eyes widened as he figured out her ruse and he started flapping his hands in excitement.

"Oh! Oh! Yuzu! I get it!" Kon babbled. "Yuzu! You're Yuzu!"

Karin wanted to smack him over the head. She settled for giving him another vicious poke with the tip of her umbrella. "Who can't recognize who now?"

She stopped after Kon shut up, and turned to Sheriff Hitsugaya, who was giving her a rather impressed look. "Sorry about that…I got a bit…carried away…?"

"No, no. I understand perfectly. Actually, I feel like you didn't go far enough," he said appreciatively. He smiled warmly at her.

It really was too bad he was from the right side of town. She could get used to a smile like that. She shook her head, hoping to dislodge such thoughts from her mind. "Anyway, may I take him home now?"

Hitsugaya looked regretful. Really regretful. She wasn't sure if it was because he was disappointing her or because he couldn't get rid of Kon just yet. "I'm sorry, but—" he started to say.

Only to be interrupted by the sound of a very loud gunshot, followed by even louder cursing. "You dangnabit, moronic, diabolical son of an angry cow! You're supposed to shoot the locks off, not the wheels! We need the wheels!"

"What the—?" Hitsugaya muttered, grabbing his gun and heading for the door.

"Not so fast, Sheriff. You need to let out my cousin first."

He turned back, exasperated. "Miss Kurosaki, now's really not the—"

"Please! The keys! He could die!" Karin ran forward and clutched the front of his shirt.

"Afterwards!" He tried to pry her hands off and mostly succeeded. Why did he have to be so damn strong?

"No! You can't!" _The guys haven't gotten the horses hitched to the coach yet!_ she thought. She had to stop him! But how? Frantic, she did the only thing she could think of.

She pushed him against the bars of the cell and kissed him.

It was short, messy, and even a little bit violent, involving far too much tongue and teeth for a first kiss, in her opinion (not that she was planning on stealing more kisses, oh, definitely no (maybe (okay, fine, yes, she was planning it, alright!))).

It was also long enough for her to get hold of the keys and handcuff him, his hands behind his back, with one of the cell's bars between them.

"Miss Kurosaki!" he said, angry and shocked.

She swiped a hand across her mouth and dangled the keys in front of his face. "Sorry, Sheriff. But I'm Miss _Karin_ Kurosaki."

With that, she ignored his outraged tirade, opened the door to the cell, let out a shell-shocked Kon ("You kissed him! I can't believe you!" "You'll shut up if you know what's good for you." "Shuttin' up, cuz."), and had just enough time to see the back wall of the cell explode, exposing her four faithful minions.

"Woo-hoo!" Pinta cried out. "It worked!"

Kazuya pushed his glasses up. "I knew that dynamite would come in handy."

"You idiots!" yelled Kon. "You coulda killed me!"

"And that's a bad thing?" said Donny.

"Well, the point of this whole adventure was to rescue him, ya know," Ryohei said.

"Enough talking," interrupted Karin. "Do you have the carriage ready or not?"

"Ready and steady, Boss!" her boys answered.

"Good," she said. "Kon, get to the front seat. You're driving that thing back to home base, and you better not get caught this time around or I'm leaving you to rot. That clear?"

"Clear as that beautiful blue sky!" Kon yelled.

"It's raining, ya know."

"Shut up, Ryohei!"

Karin watched the five of them take off, bickering the entire way. Then she turned back to the still handcuffed, still yelling officer of the law, gave him a wink, and said, "'Til next time, Sheriff Hitsugaya!"

And she rode off into the sunset on the horse she stole from him.

**.**

**.**

**.**

_Two Weeks Later_

"What's the matter with young Toushirou?" asked Mayor Ukitake. "It seems like he's obsessed with something."

His best friend Kyouraku, a local ranch owner, laughed. "You could say that. Our Sheriff Hitsugaya is bringing new meaning to the phrase, 'he's chasing after her like a stallion chasing down a mare.'"

And the two of them watched in semi-silence as Toushirou Hitsugaya nailed yet another poster to the wall.

Wanted: Quick-Draw Karin Kurosaki. Alive. Bounty: $500. And below that, a picture of a pretty, young, raven-haired woman.

"I wonder how he got close enough to see her?" Ukitake said.

"I wouldn't ask if I were you," Kyouraku chuckled. "He turns bright red any time somebody mentions it. Must've been one heck of a story!"

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**Endnote: Yay! Finally, we've written something of medium(ish) length! Sorry if you were hoping for something longer—we hope the relative speed of this update makes up for the short(ish)ness. (Don't worry, epic-length stuff will make its reappearance sooner or later…it's how we write, after all. ;)**

**Thanks to everyone who added us to their alerts or their favorites. We're actually going to be doing our little thank you paragraph differently from now on, and just naming and specifically thanking the people who reviewed the last chapter(s 15 **_**and**_** 16 in this case, because we haven't thanked you all yet via PM…don't worry, we'll get on that…), because there are just too many of you who're alerting this story. And it just takes so very long to get you all down, and then I always miss somebody and feel EXTREMEMLY GUILTY…so we're just settling for thanking all of you in general. So thank you if you added this story to your alerts or your favorites! We appreciate it!**

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	18. Shakespeare

**Author's Note: Hello to all! Welcome to the eighteenth installment of Frozen Moments. Thank you very much for reading! :D**

**This prompt was basically inspired by my disillusionment in freshman year of high school when we read Shakespeare's **_**Romeo and Juliet**_**—before that, I'd never actually read it, but thought it was the greatest love story in the world since everyone always held it up as the example. Afterwards, I learned never to listen to hearsay. Anyway, it's just more comedy and can be read as pure friendship. You are welcome to don shipper-glasses of course, and read it as pre-ship. Karin is around 15, and while it's set in Bleach-verse, it's slightly AU because it assumes Karin and Toushirou eventually became friends somewhere down the line. :D (And as usual, if anyone would like to give me a prompt, just PM me. It'll probably take a while to get written, what with the ten or so requests I've got waiting, but it'll pop up, promise! :)**

**Summary: "You know, Shakespeare's practically Ryohei, isn't he? With genius bits thrown in, of course." **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong to Tite Kubo. However, I do own the official bootleg AND the second character book now. :)**

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen: Shakespeare**

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"Hey, Toush. You're really old right?"

Hitsugaya Toushirou, who had been lounging on the couch watching soccer, turned his head to look at Kurosaki Karin, who was gnawing the end of her pencil and squinting at a battered paperback book. He raised one single, sardonic brow, waiting until she actually glanced up at him before he answered. "And my age concerns you because…?"

"Well, from my point of view, you're ancient, so you should know a lot of really old words, right?"

"You could make that argument, yes," Hitsugaya said suspiciously. "So?"

"So…you're really old."

"That's it?"

"Well, you are, aren't you?'

"Yes, but what does it have to do with anything?"

"Oh…nothing."

"I see. Then this was just a pointless conversation you initiated in order to avoid your schoolwork?"

Karin frowned. "Shut up, Toush." And went back to chewing her pencil.

"If you wish." Hitsugaya knew her well enough not to push her when she was in one of her "frustrated states."

So Hitsugaya resumed watching the game and Karin stared at her book. Ten minutes later, she frowned and turned the book sideways. When that didn't seem to help, she scowled and rotated it until it was upside-down.

When it seemed that she was going to turn it over and try to read the book by miraculously developing X-ray vision to see through the cover, Hitsugaya turned off the TV. "Kurosaki. What do you want?"

"What do you mean what do I want? I don't want anything."

"Hmph. You obviously need _something._ Something that deals with my very old vocabulary, so could you please stop being stubborn and ask me already?"

Karin rolled her eyes but complied. "What's a princox?"

"A _what_?"

"A princox. As in 'You are a princox, go.'" She made a little shooing motion with one hand, holding the book aloft with the other.

Hitsugaya blinked, even more confused. "Kurosaki, what are you reading? Is that even Japanese?"

"No, it _isn't._ It's an evil, ancient language that should have been forgotten long ago for the sake of young minds around the world."

Hitsugaya sighed and scooted over to Karin's side of the couch. Ignoring her protests, he neatly plucked the book from her hand and glanced at the cover before smirking.

On the cover was a picture of two figures, one female and the other presumably male, despite the gaudy clothes and long-ish hair, running towards each other as mobs tried to tear them apart. Amusingly, they also seemed to be trying to down a bottle of poison and stab themselves at the same time. Underneath it was emblazoned three words which were almost indecipherable due to all fancy calligraphy.

_Romeo and Juliet. _

"It's Shakespearean English, Kurosaki. There's nothing sinister about it at all."

"That's what _you_ think. It's designed to slowly strip away your brain cells until you're left as an empty, mindless shell that speaks with 'thous' and 'thees' and 'princoxes.'"

"If you hate it so much, why are you even reading it?"

Karin gaped at him in outrage. "Toushirou! Do you think I _want _to read this_..._this_…_this…"

"Drivel?" Toushirou said helpfully while skimming over the text.

"Yeah! Drivel! That's the word! There's no way I'd read this drivel willingly, but my stupid English teacher assigned it, so now I'm stuck with it. Argh! We're Japanese! Why do we even have to learn English anyway, let alone a type of English no one even speaks anymore? I can barely understand anything!" She flung herself back onto the couch and scowled at the ceiling.

Toushirou continued reading where she'd left off. "Considering what I've heard from my conversations with Kazuya and the others, high school English classes are supposed to teach you how to speak functional English, not English literature. Since this"—he lifted the book—"is obviously English literature, I assume you brought this upon yourself by taking a more difficult class in order to qualify for colleges with good pre-medical programs, yes?"

"…maybe."

"So again, this is yet another instance of self-inflicted torture. I really should have guessed."

Karin rolled her eyes. "Are you going to help me or not? Just tell me what a damn princox is and spare me the lecture."

"Based on the context, I would guess a princox would be a disreputable person with a tendency to get into aggressive situations."

She stared at him. "I told you spare me the lecture."

Hitsugaya sighed before clarifying. "He's a punk."

"Then why the hell didn't you just say punk?"

"Because I was suffering under the impression that you weren't a Philistine."

"A _what_?"

"A Phil—oh, forget it. Here, just tell me what the assignment is so I can help you out."

Karin crossed her arms across her chest and set her jaw in that stubborn, uncooperative way of hers that drove him up the wall. "I don't need help. I can do it myself. Stupid book just doesn't make any stupid sense, so how the hell am I supposed to write a coherent analysis of it?"

Scanning the instructions for the assignment, Hitsugaya merely 'tsked' in reply. "It says here that you just have to do a quick character sheet, plot summary, and write one paragraph on what you think of it. It's easy."

She glared at him. "What is it with you English-y people. I ask Ichi-nii for help and he responds the same way. Doesn't make any freakin' sense, but then he's, like, the biggest fanboy of Shakespeare I've ever seen, so of course he'd side with the Bird!"

"…it's the Bard."

"What's the difference?"

"…never mind. So Ichigo already helped you?"

"Yeah. He's better than Spark Notes when it comes to plot summaries and character descriptions, so all that's left is the opinion paragraph."

"Why are you having so much trouble, then?"

"Because I can't think of a nice way to say, 'It sucked. Shakespeare's an idiot.'"

"I _see_."

"What? It does! He is! The end!"

"Really, Kurosaki? One of the greatest, perhaps _the_ greatest author in the English language, and all you can say about him is that he's an idiot?"

"Okay, he's an idiot genius savant. Happy now?"

Hitsugaya sniggered. "More like amused. I've never heard him described that way, though I do have to admit that if _Romeo and Juliet_ is the only play of his you've read, I can understand why you might think that. It is _not_ his best work. In fact, did you know that he might not even have written it?"

"Oh, Kami, spare me the conspiracy theories. I already spent three hours listening to Ichigo argue the Stratfordian view." She thumped her head against the back of the couch.

"Alright, then, why don't you just paraphrase what you wrote in your plot summary and character sheets, and we'll build from there, figure out something intelligent to say."

"Worth a shot." Karin shrugged and handed him a piece of paper.

"Let's see, you described Romeo as…a pedophilic, bipolar creep who has no concept of familial loyalty, puts himself before his friends, and possesses homicidal _and_ suicidal tendencies that were ultimately realized. Perfect candidate for a psych ward, or better yet, prison." He raised a brow.

"Oh, shoot, wrong paper. That was my first draft. Here, take this."

"No, no, I want to see what you really think of the characters before Ichigo inevitably forced you to write something less…damning."

Karin grinned. "Oh, yeah, you should've seen him. He was so pissed off, though he did laugh at some of my descriptions."

"Hn. I can see why. 'Tybalt: short-tempered, short-lived, similar to low-level Hollows.' 'Benvolio: nice guy, backbone needed, also bipolar, but in the end, not bipolar enough to rate a dramatic death scene. Should've dumped Romeo when he had the chance—but wait, _he _has a sense of familial loyalty.' 'Friar: Why didn't he send the damn letter earlier? Also, he's supposed to be a _priest_? He let horny teenagers get married without telling their parents! Stupidity: A+, Morality: D-, Timing: F.' The list goes on and on…wait, where's Juliet?"

"Her? I wrote a whole page on her and why she's the stupidest heroine ever created. It's around here somewhere. I'm going to show it to my grandchildren as an example of a masterpiece of literary criticism. In it, I compare her to Ryohei."

Hitsugaya stared. "What? How does that even work?"

"Well, it's just that their plans work on really similar crazy-people logic. You know, the whole 'let's get married secretly, oh, crap, you killed my jerky cousin, now you have to flee the country and leave me behind as I pine for you, oh, I can't stand waiting, so I'll fake my death.' And so Romeo's all, 'OMG, she's dead, poison here I come.' And _then_ Juliet wakes up, and she's going, 'OMG, he's dead, heavy dagger, meet my heart, doki-doki.' Seriously, that's like one of Ryohei's plans to get Ururu to kiss him, word for word, with Jinta standing in as the jerky cousin."

Hitsugaya practically fell off the couch laughing. Eventually, he managed to get a hold of himself and say, "Wow, you really_ did_ hate everyone, didn't you? In fact, I think the only ones you haven't insulted are Mercutio and the Nurse, and even that last one is debatable."

"What? She's nosy, a gossip, likes helping people enact elaborate schemes that are doomed to fail, and oh, she's an alcoholic. There's only one word that encompasses all of these qualities that I can think of."

"So that's why you simply wrote 'Matsumoto' next to her name?"

"Duh." She rummaged around her backpack for more paper, emerging triumphantly with a few more pages, which she placed on the coffee table, and then dived back in to search for an extra pen.

Hitsugaya, meanwhile, continued down the list. "You've written rather glowing praises for Mercutio. He's 'interesting, cool, can fight (stupid Romeo's fault he lost the stupid fight), is fun _and _funny, and knows how to curse someone.'" Hitsugaya arched a brow.

"Well, you can't get any cooler than 'A pox on both your houses!' for your last words. The only downside to him that I can see is his tendency to talk about 'pink flowers' and other stuff, whatever the hell_ that's_ about."

"…you're referring to his habit of making innuendoes about female genitalia?"

Karin ceased looking for a pencil in favor of gaping at him, open-mouthed and wide-eyed. "What?"

"Pink flowers. You know. It's a reference to…you know."

"No, it isn't!"

"Uh…it is."

"You're saying he's talking about vaginas?"

Hitsugaya blushed.

"Oh, great, that's just great! The one character I like, and he's a pervert!"

"I'm kind of surprised you missed it. Most of what he and the Nurse say are innuendoes."

"I don't believe it! Prove it!"

Twenty minutes and two acts later, Hitsugaya and Karin could be found on opposite ends of the couch, studiously avoiding each other's gaze.

"So…he really is a pervert, isn't he?"

"Hn."

_Sigh._ "You know, Shakespeare's practically Ryohei, isn't he? With genius bits thrown in, of course. I don't think Ryohei's smart enough to invent perverted phrases and triple entendres."

"So you concede that he's not an idiot?"

"Oh, he's definitely an idiot. Just a smart one."

She couldn't see his face, but she definitely thought she sensed an eyebrow-raise.

"Kurosaki, you make no sense at all."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's what my English teacher says. I think I'll actually get a good grade on this assignment, though."

"Really?"

"Mmhm. Look—here in my opinion paragraph, I say that even though I dislike the characters and the plot, I can't deny that _Romeo and Juliet_ has a multitude of hidden meanings that I only understood with the aid of peer discussion and a thorough re-reading."

"..."

"I just left out the bit where they're perverted meanings because it sounds better that way."

"A+ for tact, Kurosaki."

A beat of silence before Karin slid a quick glance in his direction, judged him to be slightly less red in the face, and said, "…wanna watch some more soccer after I go and burn this book?"

"Why don't we give it to Ryohei instead? He could use the pointers."

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**Endnote: And that's all we wrote, folks. Shocking, I know, right? It's actually normal oneshot-length. *gasp* Don't worry, though, the next chapter is an amalgamation of several different prompt-bunnies, and it's a BEAST. No promises about when we'll post it, however, considering that that always backfires on us. ):**

**To all of you who have forlornly given up on the hope of us ever updating, we are extremely sorry and extremely grateful if you're reading this anyway. Real life kinda…took over. Good stuff happened, bad stuff happened, but we finally made it back to the world of fanfic authorhood. Don't know how long we'll be staying, but we're grateful anyway to all of you, especially those who who've been here from the beginning. Thank you also to those of you who wandered over while we were absent, and those who are just discovering us now. We're glad you've read our work and we hope you have enjoyed/are enjoying/will enjoy it. :)**

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**Thank you so much, and please review!**


	19. Payphone

**Author's Note: Hello to all! Welcome to the nineteenth installment of Frozen Moments. Thank you very much for reading! :D**

**This is another self-provided prompt, and not particularly inspired by anything other than the classic "phone call in the rain" scene. It is not, I repeat, **_**not**_** a songfic inspired by Maroon's song of the same title. There is no heartbreak up ahead. That being said, this oneshot takes place when Karin is 17 or so, and contains nothing to warn you about, unless you want to count crazy weather. Oh, wait, there's some swearing, too. So it's rated T…? (And as usual, if anyone would like to give me a prompt, just PM me. It'll probably take a while to get written, what with the ten or so requests I've got waiting, but it'll pop up, promise! :)**

**Summary: Why couldn't the weather go her way, for once?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong to Tite Kubo. However, I do own the official bootleg AND the second character book now. :)**

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**Chapter Nineteen: Payphone**

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There are three things you must know before this story begins.

The first thing you must know is this: Mother Nature is a liar.

The second thing you must know is this: She's very good at it.

The third and final thing you must know is this: Kurosaki Karin hates liars, especially those good at what they do.

* * *

The day had started off deliciously warm and delightfully sunny, accompanied by pleasant spring breezes that whispered of relaxation and rest and recreation, and faithfully promised a reprieve from gloomy showers.

Naïve, trusting people relaxed their guard, put away their umbrellas and raincoats, and took Mother Nature at her word. Children had run for their kites and Frisbees and soccer balls. Teenagers grabbed their skateboards and cell phones and sunscreen.

The old and wise, however, had merely laughed and told them to be home before noon. Their experience told them Mother Nature was a fickle soul, and their aching bones spoke of a storm worth telling the children of their grandchildren about.

Said grandchildren simply shrugged and ignored their warnings. It was a beautiful day! Nothing would go wrong.

Guess who was right.

* * *

Inside an old, battered payphone, a young woman stared at the tempest that raged outside, partly in horror and partly in awe, while also desperately wishing that the inside was not separated from the outside by only four thin panes of flimsy, transparent, infinitely_ fragile_ glass.

Of course, beggars can't be choosers, and Kurosaki Karin miserably admitted to herself that anything was better than being out there in the storm, unprotected, alone, soaked to the bone and probably catching pneumonia with her every breath.

Stupidly trusting the weather reports ("It's a lovely 75 degrees today, with no chance of rain or clouds!") and Yuzu's cheerful assurances ("Oh, Karin, don't be such a worrier! Look out the window! Isn't today simply _gorgeous_? It'd be a crime to wear a sweater!"), she had dressed casually in a tank top and her favorite cargo pants, both of which were now completely drenched and clinging uncomfortably to her skin. Her shoulder-length raven hair was disheveled, the wind tangling it into snags and curls before the rain flattened it against her head. She shook her bangs out of her face and quickly ran her hands through her hair hoping in vain that they would stay there.

_Where in the world did all this water _come_ from?_ she thought incredulously.

The rain poured down, down, _down_ in a seemingly endless deluge, washing over everything and appearing to sweep the world up in its relentless path. The sinuous, flowing water connected sky to earth, moving with the air to create a graceful, chaotic dance that took the breath away. Literally, as the winds were strong and the pavement slippery enough to easily knock a person off their feet and face first onto the ground. This tempest was anything but tame, Mother Nature in her fiercest aspect brought to terrifying life, with the staccato beat of the raindrops against the payphone's walls forming the very heartbeat of the storm.

Karin stood listening to the age-old rhythm until the pervading cold forced her to return to the moment at hand. She shook her head, clearing her thoughts.

_Right. Pull yourself together, girl. Stop gawking at the freaky hurricane and concentrate._

What was it about storms that got her so excited, anyway? She knew it was just a bunch of water and air throwing itself around, but something about storms just spoke to her. Now every time one came around she found herself glued to the window staring out, transfixed.

_When the hell did that start happening?_

A ray of sunlight broke through the clouds, transforming the dark grey of the storms to a brilliant silver.

Karin suddenly recalled the moment she started to love the storm.

Flying over the city, breathless, laughing, stepping on air as if it were solid stone. Dancing in the dark, the rain swirling around them, caressing them softly. To them the storm was no stranger to be feared. The storm was their companion, embracing them, wrapping them in its breath.

She was safe, riding on the back of her shinigami.

Karin smiled fondly.

That was the day she had realized that Toushirou was more than a friend to her, someone who'd stand by her side and weather the all the storms life through against them, together.

She smiled for a moment while reminiscing about the past before the present had her sighing. Realizing that they loved each other a whole lot and wouldn't ever find anybody else who understood them half as well as the other did was one thing. Making their lives work together was something else entirely. For example, there was the whole "alive-and-…not-so-alive" thing. And the "long-distance-relationship-to-the-point-of-separate-dimensions" thing. And the "crazy-father-homicidal-brother" thing. And the "youngest-taichou-in-the-history-of-Soul-Society-plus-all-the-duties-and-responsibilities-that-came-with-it" thing.

Yeah. Those things. Did she mention the long-distance?

Strangely, it had seemed so much easier to find excuses to visit when they were just friends. Now she had to deal with senior activities and college applications and deciding what she wanted to with life, while he was still constantly dealing with one huge disaster after another.

Where did all these crazy, evil, certifiably moronic egomaniacs determined to take over the world come from, anyway? And why did they always pop up _right _after the last one was just defeated? Did they talk to each other about schedules and stuff? Was there this secret "Evil Villain Club" they all belonged to? How did they decide who went first? Rock, paper, scissors? Eenie-Meenie-Mienie-Mo? Whoever got the shortest stick? And _why_ couldn't they just come all at the same and get it over with? Maybe after all the Dark Emperor Wannabes were dead and gone, she could finally get a date with her boyfriend without being interrupted by his needing to go off and save the World of the Living _and_ Dead.

On second thought, probably not. Old man Genryuusai would just have Toushirou filling out piles and piles of paperwork about how exactly did he kick so-and-so's ass or whether or not he followed the proper procedures when freezing the Malevolent Sixth Toothpick of Blah to death.

"Why does _my _boyfriend have to save the world? Stupid villains! Just die already!" Fuming, Karin slammed her palm against the glass. If Toushirou had been free today, they probably would've stayed inside and made out, and Yuzu wouldn't have gotten her to return the library books for her, and she wouldn't have stepped foot outside and gotten stuck in a payphone booth when the weather decided to go bipolar. The sound of thunder _did_ make a nice, angry soundtrack for her little temper tantrum, though...

…which was not quite so nice when it was followed by an ominous creaking sound coming from the frame of the payphone…

"You've got to be kidding me!" Karin swore out loud and reached for her cell phone. That was it; she didn't care if it made her wimpy, she was going to call somebody to come and rescue her before the floodways broke and she was swept out to sea.

Her searching hand found nothing but air in her pockets. She froze immediately, rejecting the obvious conclusions: A. That she had forgotten her cell phone at home. B. That Yuzu had borrowed it without permission again. And C. That aliens had stolen it using their ramen-powered vaporizer-suction-thingie to de-molecularize it and make it vanish from her pants.

She desperately rifled through her numerous pockets several more times, rummaged her backpack twice, and examined all other possible places it could be, even halfheartedly checking the inside of her bra.

Eventually reality reasserted itself and slapped her in the face.

Her phone was not with her.

She was screwed.

Banging her head against the payphone, Karin was cursing the existence of all weather reporters when she realized—

Holy shiitake mushrooms, she was in a payphone booth! What the hell was she thinking?

Suddenly revitalized, Karin once again dug through her various belongings, eventually coming up with change that amounted to slightly less than two phone calls. After quickly going through the options (Kazuya—out of town, Donny—sick, Pinta—grounded, Ryohei—carless, bike-less, and even scooter-less after last week's fiasco with the lamppost, Jinta—out with Yuzu, Yuzu—out with Jinta, her father—was her father), Karin selected the most likely-to-be-reliable form of transport and made the phone call.

_Ring._

_Ring._

_Ring._

"Hello, random person," her brother's voice said in a grumpy tone of voice.

"Ichi-nii! Thank God, look, you have to come—"

"You have reached my number, and for all you dumbasses who don't know who you're calling, this is Kurosaki Ichigo. If this is the girl who's trying to call her ex-boyfriend about her TV, let me repeat: This. Is. MY. Phone number. Get it? I don't care what that shitty bastard told you, stop calling me. For all you other people, I'm unavailable, either because my phone is dead or because I'm out saving the world. Take your pick. Actually, no, let's just go with that last option, because let's face it, I have no life outside of—"

"God, Ichi-nii, why do you have to make your phone messages so realistic?" Karin groaned.

"—defeating stupid idiots trying to take over the—what the hell do you want now, Renji? Can't you see I'm in the middle of something? Would you just—oh, God, you've gotta be kidding me! _Again?_ I just killed the last guy two hours ago! No, I am not fucking exaggerating, you were there! Oh, for crying out loud, why can't you people ever just—"

_BLEEP. _

Karin hurriedly started to leave a message, "Ichi-nii! You need to come save—"

_BLEEP._

"—me."

O…kay.

Karin reviewed the facts: her brother needed a vacation. And possibly anger management. Definitely a new cell phone recording message. Oh, and yeah, she was _still _screwed.

She stared forlornly at the change left in her hand. She was ¥10 away from another phone call. ¥10!

Leaning her forehead against the door, she gazed at the sidewalk, resigned to waiting out the storm and—

Wait. Over there, near the bench. Could it be?

Squinting, she could just make out a coin wedged underneath a nearby bench. Her salvation, if she could just survive the storm…

Steeling herself for the coming ordeal, Karin took a deep breath before plunging outside, racing straight towards the bench and frantically scooping up the coin before dashing back inside to her little haven.

_Alright, I didn't think it was possible, but I think I'm even more soaked than I was before,_ she thought sourly.

Feeding the hard-earned coins into the machine, Karin dialed her last-ditch, emergency-only, never-use-if-you-can-help-it phone number.

_Ring._

_Ring._

_Ring._

"This number is not in service. If you would like—"

"Connect me to Seireitei, please," Karin interrupted the seemingly automated voice off. "Tenth Division office."

"—another option, you can—"

"I mean it."

"…who is this?"

"Kurosaki Karin."

"Oh, well, why didn't you say so! Connection coming, right on up!"

Karin waited for three seconds before the sound of her favorite voice reached her: "Karin! What's wrong, is something the matter, Ichigo just got a message—"

"I'm fine, Toush, calm down. I'm just…in a little situation."

Karin could practically see his eyes narrow. "…situation."

"Yeah, I'm stuck in a payphone, and it's raining cats and dogs outside."

"…you're stranded in the rain, and you decide to call the number that I told you never to use unless you were in dire danger."

"Hey, I called Ichi-nii first, but I got cut off! And I only had money for one more phone call! And seriously, it's raining _cats and dogs_. I saw a poodle fly by! You want me to risk my life and walk home in _that_?"

"You saw a poodle?"

"Something fluffy and white and barking."

"Hmm. That might actually be side-effects from the latest evil mastermind's dastardly plan. He was trying to turn clouds into living beings. The spiritual resonance may have leaked into your side of things."

"See! See! I told you it was bad!"

Toushirou chuckled. "And since this is a problem caused by Soul Society, I am perfectly able, no, morally bound to come and rescue you. Where are you at?"

Karin grinned and told him, then hung up and leaned against the wall of the payphone, his reply still echoing in her head, her three favorite words in the world:

_I'll be there._

* * *

There are three things you must know before this story ends.

The first thing you must know is this: Kurosaki Karin almost never calls Hitsugaya Toushirou.

The second thing you must know is this: He always comes when she does.

The third and final thing you must know is this: _I'll be there_ meant another three words entirely.

* * *

**Endnote: Okay, so last chapter I said **_**this **_**chapter would be a BEAST, right? And yet this one…decidedly isn't. In fact, it's pretty much another oneshot, yes? Well, we do have an explanation, and it is that the leviathan oneshot created from mutated prompt-bunnies keeps trying to morph into a full-fledged story that we frankly do not have the time for, considering all our other works-in-progress. So we are currently keeping it contained in a giant tank and feeding it repressor hormones until it shrinks into something of more manageable size. That being said, we hope our quick update makes up for that a little, and we hope you can wait for the leviathan, as the next drabble will be…a drabble. It's the first in a series of interconnected drabbles, ten in total, and it is possibly our best work. While it will, of course, have traces of our trademark humor, on the whole this work is more serious and angst-ridden than general. We **_**also **_**promise that we will update FM regularly every Saturday until it is complete. Wish us luck! **

**Anyway, we're glad you've read our work and we hope you have enjoyed/are enjoying/will continue to enjoy it. :)**

**Thank you to everyone who's reviewed/alerted/favorited this story and/or us. :D**

**Special thanks goes to the following people for reviewing the last chapter: Ability King KK, lazyguy90, Rianan D'Halmsu, FlyingLikeAButterfly, HitsuKarinluv, TheGreenElephant911, Eekhoorntjes, Adobo-chan, & a Guest. ;) You guys make our day! :D (If we have forgotten you or spelled your name wrong, please tell us and we will correct the error immediately.)**

**Thank you so much, and please review! Pretty, pretty please? :)**


	20. Silence i: recognition

**Author Note: Welcome to the twentieth installment**** of **_**Frozen Moments**_** and the first part of "Silence," a ten-part drabble series. We hope you enjoy.**

**Summary: She is all of eleven years old, full of brash confidence and anger-filled attitude, and she has a smile that cuts like a knife.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. Tite Kubo-sensei does.**

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**Chapter Twenty: Silence**

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**…**

**…**

**…**

**…'_tis better to have loved and lost… _**

**…**

**…**

**…**

**i. recognition**

She is all of eleven years old, full of brash confidence and anger-filled attitude, and she has a smile that cuts like a knife. It keeps people away so they can't hurt her—or maybe so she won't hurt them (she's not sure anymore, hasn't been sure since she first showed it to Ichigo, a little while after he became a shinigami and she was fed up with his lies).

She is Kurosaki Karin, and that means three things: she's her father's daughter, she's her brother's sister, she's her sister's other half.

That's who she is, what she is, so deal with it or she'll deal with you.

It's not a terribly lonely existence to be the younger sister of a hero, not a horribly forlorn fate to be the twin of a girl who shines.

So stop looking at her like she's lying, because she's_ not_.

She's got friends, and yes, bits of her love them because they love her for being just her, love them because _she's_ Kurosaki and Ichigo is _her_ sibling and not the other way around. But still. She's fine with herself, thank you very much, doesn't need to be told that it's natural for her to be the withdrawn, moody one because she's the ignored middle child. Actually, she'd_ love_ to be ignored by her father, but Kami knew_ that_ was one miracle she wasn't getting.

Sometimes she wishes people would stop acting like she's lonely, when in reality, all she wants is for them to leave her alone…

…so she can't really understand why she finds herself running after a white-haired, equally stubborn kid whose whole attitude screams, "BACK OFF!" She hates being a hypocrite, after all, but there's something about him that she just can't resist.

Maybe it's the challenge.

Maybe it's because she recognizes the look in his eyes. The "I-LIKE-being-alone" look that hid the "I-HATE-being-left-behind-so-why-did-you-leave-me-what-did-I-do-wrong-tell-me-so-I-can-fix-it-please-please-please-take-me-with-you" look.

She hates that look, hates the way she sees it every day in the mirror.

So she follows him.

She doesn't regret it.

_(For now, at least…_

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

…_later is a different story, and it's too late then.)_

**…**

**…**

**…**

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**Endnote: And that is part one of "Silence." It's shorter than most of the other works in this collection, but we hope it made an impact anyway. More is to come. ;)**

**Anyway, we're glad you've read our work and we hope you have enjoyed/are enjoying/will continue to enjoy it. :)**

**Thank you to everyone who's reviewed/alerted/favorited this story and/or us. :D**

**Special thanks goes to the following people for reviewing the last chapter: Ability King KK, lazyguy90, Rianan D'Halmsu, FlyingLikeAButterfly, HitsuKarinluv, Eekhoorntjes, Adobo-chan, & Black Rose. ;) You guys make our day! :D (If we have forgotten you or spelled your name wrong, please tell us and we will correct the error immediately.)**

**Thank you so much, and please review! Pretty, pretty please? :)**


	21. Silence ii: resonance

**Author Note: Welcome to the twenty-first installment**** of **_**Frozen Moments**_** and the second part of "Silence," a ten-part drabble series. We hope you enjoy.**

**Summary: She is all of fourteen, and she thinks there should be rules for this sort of thing.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. Tite Kubo-sensei does.**

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**Chapter Twenty-One: Silence**

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**…**

**...**

**…**

**... XXX ...**

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**…**

**…**

**ii. resonance**

She is all of fourteen, and she thinks there should be rules for this sort of thing.

This…best boy (SPACE—do you see this space? Because there's a space, she'll have you know) friend…thing…

It's frustrating.

She only has to qualify the SPACE because Yuzu wants the title of best friend, so Toushirou has to settle for being her best _boy_ (SPACE) friend. She thinks it's stupid, because she can't even tell where she ends and Yuzu begins sometimes (though she knows the boundary's there, because otherwise she'd drool over cute stuffed animals and Yuzu would have been jumping up and down like a maniac when Nadeshiko Japan won the 2011 FIFA World Cup), so why should it matter if she calls someone else her best friend when it'll never come close to being her best twin? But Yuzu _does_ mind, and Toushirou doesn't, so best boy (SPACE) friend he is.

Anyway, Karin thinks there should be rules for their relationship, and Toushirou agrees, but she doesn't like some of his rules and he doesn't like some of hers, so they end up having a fight and not talking to each other.

And that is why they should have _rules_, so problems like this don't come up.

…except wanting rules is kind of what got them into this mess in the first place.

Maybe they'd be better off not being best friends if it leads to this kind of confusion and indecision.

And honestly, does she want a best boy (SPACE) friend who objected to Rule #8 on her list? Rule #8, which said that the winner of all one-on-one soccer games was morally obligated to pay for both participants' ice cream cones. How was that unreasonable? His Rule #32 (and if you're wondering, she had a list of 20, he had a list of 100) stated specifically that best friends should never make deprecating remarks about each others' height!

How stupid was _that_?

He makes fun of how she's half an inch shorter than him all the time!

She grumbles and mutters and gripes for three days, until Yuzu finally gets fed up.

"Are you going to send that text message or not?" she says.

Karin doesn't answer, just presses "clear text" and watches her words disappear.

(She misses Toushirou. He'd know how to make her accusation/apology sound all witty and intelligent. Where was he when she needed him…? And yes, that was a rhetorical question. Don't bother answering it or she'll have to punch you.)

She can feel Yuzu glaring at her. "You can't make up rules for friendships, you know," her twin says in that overly patient voice she uses whenever she's frustrated. "They just _are_."

Karin says nothing, just waits until her sister leaves. Then she flops onto the bed and stares at the ceiling, sits back up again and glares at her phone, snaps it shut, snaps it open, types in _i'm sorry_. She's going to push send before she can chicken out again when it beeps in her hand.

_One new message_, her screen tells her.

_I'm sorry_, he tells her.

And suddenly all is right with the world once more.

A week later, they decide on five rules and leave it at that.

Rule #1: They have each other's backs and they fight for each other's beliefs. When one of them needs the other, they're there without needing to be asked.

Rule #2: They suffer together (suffering = tortures devised by Matsumoto and/or Goat-chin).

Rule #3: No major secrets (minor ones are okay and somewhat necessary—Toushirou does _not_ need to know who gave Yachiru the key to his office last week). No ignoring each other. And they can tell each other anything and still be best friends.

Rule #4: Insults and deprecating remarks are fine as long as no one's crying (which essentially means that anything goes—them, crying? Ha. Yeah, right.).

Rule #5: After every argument, fight, and disagreement, both of them have to apologize…eventually.

_(Neither of them mention the last rule on both of their original lists: No falling in love with each other._

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

_It's just as well, because they'll both end up breaking it.)_

**…**

**…**

**…**

* * *

**Endnote: And that is part two of the "Silence Arc." Thanks to Black Rose for the cool name. ;) The third part will be posted in one week's time, and we ARE posting each part one right after the other, so please stick around. ;D**

**Anyway, we're glad you've read our work and we hope you have enjoyed/are enjoying/will continue to enjoy it. :)**

**Thank you to everyone who's reviewed/alerted/favorited this story and/or us. :D**

**Special thanks goes to the following people for reviewing the last chapter: MisplacedWit, Black Rose, FlyingLikeAButterfly, animexlover31, PunkRockHolly, Rianan D'Halmsu, & Eekhoorntjes. ;) You guys make our day! :D (If we have forgotten you or spelled your name wrong, please tell us and we will correct the error immediately.)**

**Thank you so much, and please review! Pretty, pretty please? :)**


	22. Silence iii: unsaid

**Author Note: Welcome to the twenty-second installment**** of **_**Frozen Moments**_** and the third part of "Silence," a ten-part drabble series. We hope you enjoy.**

**Summary: She is all of seventeen, and she's fallen in love.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. Tite Kubo-sensei does.**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Silence**

* * *

**…**

**…**

**…**

**… XXX …**

**…**

**…**

**…**

**iii. unsaid**

She is all of seventeen, and she's fallen in love.

Well, she thinks it's love, anyway. She's not entirely sure, but it feels like it, like what the movies and magazines and Yuzu's whispered giggles tell her it ought to feel like.

When she sees him, her heart beats a little faster. When he smiles at her, her breath catches. When his hand brushes hers, her body shivers. When she's with him, she feels as if she's the most beautiful girl in the world.

It kind of freaks her out a little, for a lot of reasons.

She's a tomboy, always has been, always will be, but now she finds herself taking notice of her appearance. She's acting more girly. She wears her hair loose, lets Yuzu buy her a simple skirt or two, dresses in shirts that hug her figure instead of hide it, puts on _just_ a little lip gloss in the mornings, and sometimes slips on flats instead of sneakers, hoping that he'll notice.

She finds herself thinking about him all the time. She even catches herself scribbling his name in her notes. She wants to tell him how she feels—sometimes the urge to confess feels like a hawk frantically beating in her chest, trying to claw its way out. But she stays silent. She doesn't know what to say now, feels tongue-tied and awkward where once she felt confident and sure of herself.

She doesn't want to ruin their friendship, but she's not content with not having more. Instead of getting angry, she turns solemn, silent.

In short, she's not like herself at all.

Toushirou thinks she's lost her mind.

She tends to agree, but she thinks it's worth it. When you lose your heart, it's natural to lose your mind, too, right?

Toushirou is not convinced.

"What do you_ see_ in him?" he asks her, exasperated. They're at their railing, watching yet another sunset. He's there on vacation and she's just gotten out of kendo practice.

"I don't know," she replies, equally frustrated. She'd pointed Shusuke out to Toushirou, in accordance with their Rule #3, and all he'd been doing ever since was criticize her crush. She lets out an angry breath. "Actually, no. That's a lie. I see that he's an amazing, kind, funny, charismatic leader. He's caring, and dedicated, and—"

"And he's a bigger idiot than your brother is," Toushirou finishes.

Karin glares at him.

"I just don't think he's good enough for you, is all," Toushirou mutters.

She laughs, the sound disbelieving. "Not good enough for me? Toush, it's the other way around! He's the student council president, he's handsome enough to be a model, _and_ he's the most popular guy in school. He's even the captain of the boys' soccer team, and they're going to the_ nationals_."

"You're the captain of the girls' team, also going to nationals."

"Yeah, but everyone says he's going pro after graduation!"

"So? The only reason you're not going pro is because you want to be a doctor instead. I don't understand why a smart girl like you would want to date a dumb jock like him." Toushirou sounds disgruntled and starts to kick the railing, a sure sign of his displeasure.

She rolls her eyes. "He's not a dumb jock! He's second in the class!"

"Second to _you_." Toushirou glares at the sunset and waits for her reply, but she stays silent. When he glances over, she's biting her lip and looking worried.

"You don't think that's going to be a problem, do you?"

He stares at her blankly. "What are you talking about?"

She shuffles her left foot a little (she always does this when she's unsure of herself) and says, "Well…I was listening to some of the girls in my class the other day, and they said that guys don't like dating girls who are smarter than them."

"That's because most guys are morons."

She bursts out laughing, and a corner of his mouth turns up in response. "You're right. They are." She sighs and leans against him, resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes as she continues talking. "But Shusuke's different. He's…he's just_ different_. It's difficult to describe. He always compliments me whenever I do well on a test or win a game. And I can tell he _means_ it. And, well, he's the first boy to notice me in a good way."

He snorts. "Really? I sincerely doubt that."

"He told me I looked pretty," she says quietly, almost as if she hadn't heard him, whispering it against the crook of his neck. "No one ever says that to me and means it. They always say it to Yuzu first, then they notice me and rush to say that I look nice, too, as if I couldn't tell I was an afterthought. As if I couldn't tell that they're lying."

She can feel him stiffen a little, and she almost starts to move back, but he drapes his arm around her shoulders and keeps her against him as he lays his cheek against her head, his hand cradling the curve of her face. "Karin," he says, his voice sure and steady, "you're smart, loyal, witty, and confident. You have the best sense of humor I've ever come across. You have a killer left hook. You're an awesome soccer player. But most of all, you're beautiful. And believe me, I mean it."

She can't see his face, but she imagines him looking uncomfortable and embarrassed, but ultimately sincere, and chuckles a little. "Thanks, Toush, but you're my best friend. It doesn't count."

"It does, too."

"Does not."

"Does, _too_."

"Does n—oh, fine. It counts." She pulls back from him, laughing. "But you only think I'm beautiful because you love me."

He doesn't answer her immediately, just lets the silence and space between them grow as he stays quiet and she keeps walking further away. She's so certain that he'll follow her that she doesn't look back, not even once.

(It's because of this that she misses the look on his face—it's not quite longing, not quite sadness, not quite hope, but something in-between. Something that poets sometimes call wistfulness and lovers sometimes call wish-fullness.)

When he finally breaks the calm, the sound of his familiar voice brings them together again. "Maybe. But any boy who doesn't agree with me is demented."

She waves a hand in dismissal, her back still turned to him. "So arrogant, Toush. Anyone who doesn't agree with you is always crazy, huh?" And she looks over her shoulder, gracing him with a subtle quirk of her mouth.

He smirks back.

And they head home together, accompanied only by the sound of her absent-minded humming and his silence, which is full of the things he will not say.

_(A part of her hears them anyway—_

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

"_Yes. You are beautiful because I love you.")_

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**Endnote: And that is part three of the "Silence Arc." Part four will be posted in one week's time.** **Anyway, we're glad you've read our work and we hope you have enjoyed/are enjoying/will continue to enjoy it. :)**

**Thank you to everyone who's reviewed/alerted/favorited this story and/or us. **

**Special thanks goes to the following people for reviewing the last chapter: Ability King KK, Rianan D'Halmsu, xNightDreamerx, Eekhoorntjes, Black Rose, Nayabaybeex3, signifyme, PunkRockHolly, & Adobo-chan. ;) You guys make our day! And I promise I'll reply to each review individually **_**very soon.**_** I apologize for not having done so sooner, but I figured you guys would prefer I update instead. :D (If we have forgotten you or spelled your name wrong, please tell us and we will correct the error immediately.)**

**Thank you so much, and please review! Honestly, I want to know what you think—even a one-word comment is appreciated. I'm hoping we could get up to at least 270 reviews this chapter…? *saleswomanoftheyearsmile* Don't worry, I'll still post the next part as promised next week, but it would be nice to know what you think of this one. I really, really loved writing**_** this**_** particular piece, so please tell me what you thought worked, what didn't, what you liked about it, etc. Or, you know, an "update soon!" That always gets me motivated. Anyway, thank you for reading this long and rambling note, and we'll see you next week. :)**


	23. Silence iv: speechless

**Author Note: Welcome to the twenty-third installment**** of **_**Frozen Moments**_** and the fourth part of "Silence," a ten-part drabble series. We hope you enjoy.**

**Summary: She is all of eighteen, and she feels like she's made of stone, of cold, hard granite.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. Tite Kubo-sensei does.**

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**Chapter Twenty-Three: Silence**

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**… XXX …**

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**iv. speechless**

She is all of eighteen, and she feels like she's made of stone, of cold, hard granite.

Stupid. Stupid. She's so _stupid_. How could she have thought he wanted her? How could she have thought he felt the same? She wants to crawl into a hole and die. She wants to tear him apart and burn the pieces. She wants to shout and yell and weep and wail and beg and _force_ him to love her.

She wants to, but she knows she won't. She's stronger than that.

(But just this once, she wishes she were weak.)

She'd finally decided to confess, finally decided to end the games and the half-joking flirtations and the ceaseless dance where he watches her and she watches him. She was tired of being a coward, of being a hypocrite.

So she offered him her heart…and he smashed it to pieces.

"I—I'm sorry, Kurosaki," Shusuke says, his eyes full of apology and, worse, pity. "But you're like one of the guys to me. I only see you as a friend."

"But…you said I was pretty," she says, feeling like someone drowning in a storm.

He winces, then rushes to say—"You are! You are! You're really pretty, Kurosaki, just pretty in a different way, and some lucky guy is—"

"—is going to see how beautiful I am and fall madly in love with me?" she says in a hollow voice. She can't believe (how stupid she was, how blind, he's just like the others, lying_lyingLYING_ to her face!) that this is happening.

He falls silent. She falls silent.

(And in the space between their silences, you can hear the sound of her heart breaking.)

Is there anything else to say?

That was two weeks ago, and everyone in school's doing enough talking for the both of them. Yuzu has launched an all-out war against Shusuke, and it's fought with words and glares and a slap to his face. Karin can't help but smile wryly—she's so used to being the protector, and here Yuzu is, shielding her instead against all the rumors and snickers and contemptuous glances.

She's the damsel in distress. She's the princess who sat dreaming in her tower, waiting for her prince. She's the girl who fell in love with the unattainable guy. She's the damned cliché, except she doesn't have her happy ending.

When the hell did she start expecting a happy ending?

When the _fuck_ did she go crazy?

She wishes she had the answer to that, so that she can go back and fix it.

(He was supposed to _love_ her, damn it. (She wasn't supposed to _fall_ in love, damn it. (Isn't she supposed to be _crying_, damn it?)))

She refuses to avoid him at school, refuses to ignore the people talking behind her back, refuses to pretend that nothing happened and everything's fine. She's not going to make a big deal out of it, though—life is going to go on, and everyone's going to see that it takes more than a broken heart to break Kurosaki Karin's spirit…even if it came close.

The plan's working well, but then another week passes and she's staring the Sadie Hawkins Dance right in the face. She watches Hiromi-chan (sweet, feminine, _beautiful_ Hiromi-chan) ask Shusuke (she whispers, really, keeping her eyes on the floor the entire time) to go with her. She watches Shusuke say yes.

After that, she skips class and goes up to the roof to stare at the sky. It helps a lot, and has the added benefit of allowing her to come across Yuzu threatening Hiromi-chan when she's walking back to class. She intervenes, of course—it's not Hiromi-chan's fault that she's gorgeous and Karin's not.

Yuzu thinks that's bullshit and says so, in those words.

Karin laughs and throws an arm around her shoulders and smiles at Hiromi-chan, who looks back at her seriously and says, "You _are_ beautiful, Karin-chan. And I'm sorry."

And Karin can see she means it, can see that Hiromi-chan thinks that it should have been Karin and not her—but she can also see that Hiromi-chan loves Shusuke enough to take advantage of his rejection (Yuzu calls it his stupidity).

Karin can't blame her. "There's nothing to be sorry for." She lifts her chin, proud as a queen. "I knew it wouldn't ever work anyway."

Hiromi-chan only smiles sadly and walks away.

"There's everything to be sorry for," Yuzu grumbles as they go in the opposite direction, "and I'm going to make sure Shusuke-kun knows it."

Karin shrugs carelessly, like it doesn't matter to her either way (but it does—oh, it does). "Whatever, Yuzu. He's not worth it."

"_Thank_ you," Yuzu says. "I'm glad you've finally seen the light. Now, what should you wear to the dance? I think that one dress—"

"I'm not going to the dance, Yuzu."

Yuzu stops in her tracks. "What? Karin, you have to go! Otherwise people will think—"

"They'll think what? That I'm a coward for not going? Let them think that. I don't care. I'm not a coward, but I'm not a masochist either." Karin stops and wraps her arms around herself. "He doesn't want me, Yuzu. He doesn't want me. And I can't stand it anymore."

Yuzu wraps her arms around her, hugs her tight, so tight, almost as if she's trying to push herself into the cracks in Karin's heart and fix her. She smoothes a hand over Karin's hair, murmurs tenderly, "I'm going to _kill_ Shusuke-kun."

Karin only closes her eyes.

* * *

It's one week later and tonight is the night. Goat-chin is out of town on some conference, so Karin doesn't have to worry about him worrying about her. He dragged Ichi-nii with him, so Karin doesn't have to worry about him making good on his death threats towards Shusuke, either. Best of all, Yuzu also seems to have finally given up on forcing her to go to the dance. Karin's thankful, and she's able to muster enough energy to wave goodbye to Yuzu in the morning. Her twin's going off with Midori-chan to prepare for the dance—it's one of two that their school hosts, so it's nearly as big a deal as an American prom. Yuzu's been looking forward to it for weeks and weeks; she asked Jinta as soon as it was announced—he turned red as his hair and said yes. How could he not? They were high school sweethearts, soul mates, lovers of the truest kind.

It hurts Karin a little to see sometimes, even before she fell in love, before she fell to pieces. Afterwards, it's unbearable.

What is it about misery that makes happiness so painful?

Nonetheless, she squashes the urge to let Yuzu sacrifice for her and pushes her out the door, a fake smile pasted on her face even as her twin insists on boycotting the dance and staying with her instead.

"It's just a stupid event, like you said," Yuzu repeats.

But Karin knows it's not, knows she lied. It's not just a dance, not to Yuzu. Not to her. Not anymore.

So she insists on staying, insists on Yuzu going. And as she closes the door, she breathes a little sigh of relief as the silence and emptiness closes in around her.

She loves her twin, would testify that no one knows her better—but knowledge doesn't necessarily bring understanding. And Yuzu can't understand how loneliness can fill the spaces of her broken heart and make it—not whole again, not healed, but…comforted. Yes, silence and solitude would help her—not the outraged anger of her brother and father, not the glaring brightness of Yuzu's reciprocated love, not the bittersweet radiance of Shusuke's smile.

Being _alone_ helps her. She doesn't need people; she needs to remember that she doesn't need them.

However, her plans to wallow in angst and self-pity are interrupted by an insistent knocking at the door.

She ignores it.

It refuses to stop.

She opens it, ready to yell at whatever frickin' idiot is disturbing her when she realizes—

It's Matsumoto.

Oh, bleep.

"Karin-chan!" she exclaims, pushing her way past the door with a smile and a hug, because that's what Matsumoto does. She pushes boundaries, breaks down barriers, makes your business her business, and you can't do anything to stop her because you know she does it because she _cares_ (and also because she likes to antagonize people, but really, that's just a bonus).

If there's anybody who can ruin Karin's hopes of a quiet night of introspection and resignation, it's Matsumoto. And she's not alone, as Karin can see Orihime parking her car in the driveway and getting out to join them.

Karin can see Yuzu's hand all over this, and she can't believe the gall of her twin—except, of course, she can. She should have _known_ Yuzu hadn't put up enough of a fight when she refused to go to the dance this morning. And now, her twin has brought in reinforcements.

"Oh, no," she says.

"Oh, _yes_," says Matsumoto. She grins.

Karin fights the urge to run and—mostly—succeeds (look, she can't help if her legs twitch slightly, and trying to shut the door in Orihime's face was _purely_ reflex…not that it worked).

"I'm not going," she says firmly. She's _not_, damn it.

She's still saying it half an hour later as Matsumoto and Orihime dress her up to the nines, chatting all the while and ignoring Karin's increasingly grouchy expressions.

"I have no idea why on earth you wouldn't go, Karin-chan!" Matsumoto says. "Just because some stupid, inconsequential, moronic little twit didn't have the good sense to fall down to his knees and worship you when you asked him out isn't a good enough reason to stay home and mope!" She's doing something to Karin's toenails that the latter would really prefer not to think about as she talks, and Orihime adds her own two cents while she does Karin's makeup.

"I know it's hard when the boy you like doesn't like you back, Karin-chan, believe me," Orihime says. "But I think it would be good for you to get out and have fun. Don't let heartbreak take the joy out of life, hmm?"

"Easy for you to say," Karin mutters. "Ichigo came to_ his_ senses. I don't think Shusuke's going to realize I'm the love of his life any time soon—which leaves me where? Oh, yeah. Taking up space in Heartbreak Hotel."

"Helloooo? I thought we established that he was a moronic little twit?" Matsumoto says. "Which means that he's not worth being miserable over, and he's certainly not worth acting like a coward for."

"I'm not a coward!" Karin yells.

"Exactly," Matsumoto says bluntly. "So go to the dance and show everyone what you're made of, alright? Show everyone how you're strong enough to stand alone. Make them see that you've got the kind of beauty that burns so bright that you don't _need_ anyone to help you shine—you've got enough light of your own."

Before Karin can protest—she's not beautiful, not really, and she knows it (oh, how she knows it—she's nothing like her mother or her sister or Orihime and nobody's _ever_ going to look at her the way her father and Jinta and Ichigo look at them and she can't bear to go to the dance and have that fact rubbed in her face—she just _can't_)—Matsumoto steps back and shows Karin her reflection.

And Karin stares.

"Is that…is that me?" she asks, her voice uncharacteristically awed.

The girl in the mirror looks like her, but not. She looks like a spirit of the night, clad in moonlight and shadows and the still, quiet wind. Her eyes are a smoky, mysterious black accentuated by long lashes; her cheekbones are high and touched with the barest hint of color; and her lips are full, sensuously curved, and a deep, deep red. She's wearing an iron-gray dress, shoes the color of darkest obsidian, and, even as she watches, Orihime places a white gold locket around her throat carried on a ribbon the color of the summer sky.

"There," she says. "You're perfect, little sister." She smiles, wide and warm and oh so loving, and Karin can feel tears burning at the back of her throat.

She's beautiful. They've made her beautiful, and she tells them so as she thanks them. They laugh in reply.

"Oh, Karin-chan," Orihime says. "_You _made yourself look beautiful; we only helped a little."

Karin opened her mouth to disagree, but the sound of the doorbell ringing stops her in her tracks.

"They're here!" Matsumoto says joyfully.

Karin frowns. "Who?"

"Your knights in shining armor!"

Matsumoto throws open the front door, and there they are.

"Boss!" Pinta yells. He's dressed in an atrocious baby blue suit, waving madly and grinning like it's his birthday. Next to him, Kazuya pushes up his glasses, Donny fiddles with his keychain, and Ryohei has his arm solidly around the waist of a pretty, dark-haired girl who looks remarkably like—

"Ururu!" Karin says. "Oh, Kami, he got you to say yes?"

Ururu shrugged. "He's entertaining."

"Yeah! I'm entertaining!" Ryohei states proudly.

"Yeah, Boss, ignore the rest of us entirely. Obviously we can't hold a candle to the extremely 'entertaining,' one-man freak show," Pinta grumbles.

"Hey!"

Karin laughs. "What the hell are you all doing here, anyway?"

"Picking you up, of course. Like our ride?" Donny jabs his thumb at…a limousine. Parked in front of the Kurosaki Clinic. Which definitely wasn't there when Orihime and Matsumoto arrived.

"No. Way." Karin just keeps laughing. "There is no way you could have afforded that thing! You're all completely broke!"

"Hey! We're not completely broke! We rented the suits didn't we?"

"Yeah! And we helped Ryohei pay for Ururu-chan's corsage!"

"You dumbass, don't say that! That only goes to show how broke we really are!"

"…you needed money from your friends to help pay for my corsage?"

"Did not! They're all lying liars!"

Kazuya clears his throat and the bickering ceases. "Think of the ride as a gift from…a secret admirer," he says, a faint smile on his face.

The effect is completely ruined when the others snort. "Dude, stop trying to sound all cool and mysterious. You're acting like a total weirdo!" Donny says.

"Yeah, and what the hell's so secret about Tou—owwww! Ururu-chan, light of my life, why have you broken my arm?!"

"She just twisted it! Kami, you're such a pansy. Ururu-chan, please, save yourself the agony and dump him," Pinta says.

Ururu blinks. "But I like the way he screams."

"Yeah, she likes the way I scream," Ryohei says smugly.

"…there are so many things wrong with you that I don't even know where to start," Donny says. He turns to Karin. "Hey, you sure you still want to come with us? We're all insane and crazy and obviously shouldn't be let loose on society, so attending the dance with us might not be the smartest move."

Karin just grins, fierce and proud and feeling like herself for the first time in days. "You dumbasses, do you even have to ask? I wouldn't want to go with anybody else."

Matsumoto, Orihime, Ururu and all her boys cheer.

"Woohoo! That's our girl!" Matsumoto yells. She and Orihime throw their arms around Karin, and next thing she knows, she's in the center of a group hug, the boys all crowding in and Matsumoto elbowing wandering hands and Orihime smiling widely and everybody laughing and giggling.

Once they break it up, Donny rubs his hands together gleefully. "I call shotgun!"

"You idiot! The whole point of a limo is so everybody sits in the back!" Kazuya says.

"Yeah!" Ryohei seconds.

"Then I call the wine cooler seat!" Donny says.

"Yeah! And I want the window remote thingie!" Pinta says.

"Limos have that? Awesome!"

"Whoa!"

"Yeah!"

"Let's get this show on the road!"

"Yes," Karin says. "Let's."

* * *

Everybody turns to stare at them once they get to the school gymnasium where the dance is being held, but for once Karin doesn't feel self-conscious about it. They're staring at her, yeah, but that's because she's in the middle of a raucous, crazy, fantastic group whose members have absolutely _no_ concept of volume control. Who wouldn't be staring?

(Out of the corner of her eye, she sees a few girls snickering, but when she turns around, they're mysteriously pale and Ururu is calmly smiling and cracking her knuckles politely.)

"Karin!" she hears a voice say, and then Yuzu is throwing her arms around her and laughing. "You look fantastic! I knew you would! Did you like the limo? Did you?"

Her twin is practically bouncing in place, she's so excited, and Karin can't help but grin at her. "Yeah, it was okay," she says (it was more than okay—the wine cooler came with actual wine, and she thinks the boys are more than a little tipsy—ha, they wouldn't last a minute at a Tenth Division party). Then she pulls a mock-scowl, crossing her arms. "I can't believe you had the nerve to sic Matsumoto and Orihime-nee on me. That was playing dirty, and you know it! I didn't even want to come to this thing!"

Yuzu just rolls her eyes. "Please, spare me your melodrama. I was getting tired of you moping around the house—"

Karin's mouth drops open in affronted shock. "Moping?"

"—like some pathetic heroine. It was time you remembered who you were," she says decisively.

"And who is that exactly?" Karin asks dryly.

"The strongest, bravest, and most beautiful girl in all of Karakura, of course," Yuzu replies, as if the answer is obvious.

And, she supposes, to her sister it is. To her sister, it's nothing but the truth. She hugs her just a little tighter. Yeah. Who needs romantic love when she has this?

"Heya, Yuzu-chan!" Donny says, waving. "You look great!"

"Thanks, Donny-kun! And hi, everybody! Thanks for picking up Karin. We're really grateful, you know," Yuzu says, smiling widely.

Karin rolls her eyes. "Oh, speak for yourself, Yuzu. I'm not grateful at all."

"Oh, I know," she says brightly. "I wasn't talking about you."

Karin eyes her suspiciously. "Mmm. Is that right?"

Yuzu just grins mischievously.

Before Karin can ask her what the deal is—the boys had been acting weird, too—Jinta comes up and touches her sister on the shoulder. "Hey, honey. I got you some punch." He acknowledges Karin and the rest of the group with a quick nod. "Yo, Kurosaki. How you holding up? Need me to hold Shusuke while you beat him to a pulp?"

"Jinta!" Yuzu hisses.

"What? You're the one who slapped him!" Jinta says, incredulous. "And you, punk, get your hands off Ururu's waist."

"Punk?!" Ryohei splutters. "Man, I am _so_ never covering for you again when Ichigo asks where you took Yuzu-chan on a date." Still, the hands come off, and Jinta nods, satisfied. Hypocrite that he is, he also places his arms casually around Yuzu's shoulders, and her sister leans back against him, smiling contentedly. Jinta's normally gruff exterior softens noticeably, and he stares down at her with this _look _in his eyes, this look that says absolutely everything about the way he feels about her.

Oh, damn. Karin can feel her heart twisting in her chest, and she abruptly turns around before Yuzu can see the stricken expression on her face.

Of course, that's the exact moment that Shusuke and the rest of his soccer buddies come in with their dates, and abruptly stop as they nearly crash into Karin and her little group, with the whole auditorium going quiet as they take in the latest act of this little drama.

Karin can feel her friends shift and range themselves around her, Yuzu squaring her shoulders and Jinta rolling his, Kazuya and the boys straightening up and Ururu ominously shifting from foot to foot. It's like they're gearing up for a showdown, for a knockdown, drag-out fight, and Karin would smile if she hadn't been arrested by the scene before her.

Hiromi-chan is arm in arm with Shusuke, and she's dressed in gold and orange, bright and warm and so, so beautiful, the shining day to Karin's darkened night. She looks like she belongs with him, quiet and elegant, the perfect complement to his handsome, charming presence.

Kami, why did Karin ever think she had a chance with him when there are girls like this around?

"Hi, Kurosaki," Shusuke says, his tone gentle and friendly.

_This doesn't have to change anything_, he'd told her right after (he broke her heart) she confessed. _I still want to be your friend._

And, oh, how it would've been better if he hadn't meant it. But he did, he does, and now he's smiling determinedly at her, the expression reminiscent of Ichigo's when he's pushed a friend away and hadn't wanted to. She is suddenly reminded of the fact that she probably started liking him because of how he reminded her of her brother.

(And still, and _still_, despite everything, her heart still jumps at the sight of that smile.)

So she smiles back, tightens her grip around Yuzu's hand, and says, "Hey, Shusuke. Nice to see you." She turns to Hiromi-chan, tells her sincerely, "Hi, Hiromi-chan. You're looking gorgeous tonight."

"Thank you, Karin-san," she replies, her tone cautiously polite and hesitant. "You and Yuzu-chan look very pretty as well."

"Damn straight, they do," Ryohei says. "Can't hold a candle to my Ururu-chan here, of course, but not everybody can be the light of my life."

Every guy on both sides of the divide rolls his eyes.

"Seriously, Toba, would you listen to yourself? You're an embarrassment to men everywhere," Kijima, Shusuke's best friend, says.

"Yeah," Donny seconds. "It's like you're _trying_ to humiliate the rest of us, instead of just yourself."

"You've got to stop, man," Shogo says; he's a fullback on the team and standing to the left of Kijima, with a skinny girl clinging to his arm.

"Whatever!" Ryohei yells. "You're all just jealous because I got the prettiest girl in the room to come with me."

"Uh, is this the part where we remind you that this is a Sadie Hawkins dace, meaning the girl was supposed to ask the guy to come?" Karin points out, her voice dripping with mockery.

Both groups erupt into laughter, and with that, it's as if a spell has been broken, and the anticipation gripping the room is dispelled. The guys move forward and bump fists, slap shoulders in greeting, and the girls huddle off to the side and giggle. Yuzu unbends long enough to start talking civilly to Hiromi-chan again, and Karin is grateful. She knows the two were friends, that Yuzu had somehow taken it as a personal betrayal that the girl had dared to like the same boy Karin liked, that she'd been hurt as much as if Hiromi-chan had dared to go after Jinta.

And the boys, too, are looking faintly relieved, glad to be on speaking terms with their teammates once more. Karin is abruptly reminded that Kazuya, Pinta, Donny, and Ryohei genuinely liked and respected Shusuke—he was their captain, his friends were often their friends, too, and in many ways they'd been closer to him than even she had been. Karin feels a stab of belated remorse for forcing them to choose sides, and wallowing so deeply in her bout of self-pity that she hadn't even noticed she'd done it.

Still, she's intensely, immensely grateful that they apparently chose her without hesitation.

She watches the two groups interacting and merging into one, and feels a slight nudge at her elbow.

"Hi," Shusuke says again.

"Hi," she says back, grinning.

He takes in her expression slowly, then looks over her appearance before gracing her with a small smile. "You know, I think Hiromi-chan was wrong. You don't look very pretty tonight…"

Karin can feel her eyebrows arch in surprise. Shusuke had better hope Yuzu didn't overhear him, not if he wants to keep his kidneys intact.

"…you look beautiful," he finishes. His eyes are filled with simple admiration—not adoration, not love, not what she wants from him, but for the first time in weeks she can't see a trace of pity, so she'll settle for it.

"Thanks," she replies. "Too bad I can't say the same. I don't know what the hell Hiromi-chan sees in you, you ugly bastard."

He laughs and holds his hand over his heart, feigning injury. "Ouch!"

"Yeah, well, not all of us can be so fabulous." She shrugs and leans against the wall.

"Guess not." He looks sideways at her. "You know, Kurosaki, I meant what I said."

"Hmm?"

"Someday, some lucky guy's gonna look at you and fall madly in love. I'm just sorry it couldn't be me." His eyes are deadly serious as they look into hers.

Karin's hands ball into fists as her heart wrenches painfully in her chest. She takes a deep breath—and slowly exhales. Her hands relax, her shoulders settle, and for the first time since it was broken, her heart feels…not better, not yet, but it feels like it could get there. Like it hurts just a little less, and like someday it wouldn't hurt at all.

"Yeah," she says softly. "I know. It's okay."

"Yeah? You're gonna be okay?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna be okay."

* * *

It's a few minutes later and everybody starts heading over to the refreshments table. Karin instructs Kazuya to save some of the little cut-up sandwiches for her—she knows how Pinta gets—and ducks away to head to the restrooms.

She locks herself in a stall, lets herself wallow in self-pity over Shusuke for the last time, and blinks rapidly at the ceiling for a bit.

When she's done with that, she gets out and splashes water on her face (no, she is not wiping away stray tear tracks, because she wasn't crying in the first place).

She squints at her reflection. Huh. Her lipstick (lip gloss?) is a bit smeared, so she fumbles around in the tiny bag Matsumoto shoved into her hands before leaving and extracts the appropriate tube. She tentatively applies some, pursing her lips once she's done.

It doesn't look too bad. She leans forward a little to see it better, and the lipstick falls to the floor.

She's on her knees looking for the stupid thing when the door opens and two girls enter, talking loudly.

"—can't believe she came! I'd have been too humiliated to even show my face!" one says. Karin recognizes the voice as Kaori, one of the meaner girls in their year.

"I know!" her companion, the ever-loyal Akane, parrots.

"And did you see the way she talking to Shusuke-kun? With Hiromi-chan not even ten feet away! How desperate can the girl get? It's obvious he would never look at her twice, but she still keeps on throwing herself at him. Hasn't she got any pride?"

"Apparently not," Akane giggles.

"She even came alone tonight," Kaori says, contempt dripping from every word. "I bet she couldn't find any boy who'd say yes to her."

Karin slowly straightens, ignoring the sharp cut of pain and humiliation she feels and focusing on the growing anger. "You have something you want to say to me, Kaori-san?" she says icily.

The two girls gasp and clutch each other. "Karin-chan!" Akane says. "We didn't know you were here."

Karin crosses her arms. "No kidding."

They stare at her in nervous silence for a few moments.

"…I won't take back what I said," Kaori finally manages, raising her chin in false bravado.

"Oh?"

"No. Because everything I said was true," the girl insists, apparently deciding she might as well crash and burn as spectacularly as possible, since she's already guaranteed to go down in flames.

Karin laughs, the sound loud and sardonic. "As if, Kaori-san. You're the one who wouldn't stop throwing herself at Shusuke-kun, or any boy who's mildly attractive, for that matter. And for your information, I didn't come alone tonight."

"You didn't?" Akane says, bewildered.

"Nope," Karin replies, shoving past them and opening the door. She grins at them over her shoulder. "I didn't."

She leaves them behind, her head held high, and walks over to the seven people she _did _come here with.

"Yo, Boss! Where've you been?" Pinta says through a mouthful of sandwiches. "Look, you almost missed the tuna!"

"No thanks to you," Kazuya adds dryly. "Here, Boss, I saved you a plate."

"Thanks," she says.

He hands it to her, then looks at his watch. Glances at the door. Looks back at his watch. Glances at her.

"…what?" she asks.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing."

Karin surveys the rest of her friends to find them all doing the same things. "Okay, what's going on?"

"Nothing!" they all shout at the same time.

"Isn't he supposed to be here by now?" Donny hisses at Ryohei.

"Shhh!" Pinta says.

Karin is just about to smack one of the boys until they reveal their dastardly plans when Yuzu interrupts, saying, "Oh, look! The music's starting! Come on, Jinta, I want to dance!"

"Me, too, me, too!" Ryohei says, tugging plaintively on Ururu's hand. The girl smiles indulgently at him and nods. Ryohei whoops and drags her out onto the floor, and begins dancing like a maniac.

Karin and the others laugh, and soon everybody heads out and starts swaying to the beat of the music. Donny starts doing the Worm, Pinta waves his arms like a windmill, Kazuya does his shuffle-step, and Jinta and Yuzu whirl around, perfectly in sync.

Karin stays to the side, bobbing her head in time to the songs, and content to simply watch her friends and enjoy herself. She smiles ruefully. Yuzu was right; she really _had _needed to get out of the house.

Shusuke finally manages to coax Hiromi-chan onto the dance floor, just as a slow song starts up. Everyone breaks off into pairs or joins Karin on the sideline.

She watches as Jinta holds Yuzu close and tenderly leans his forehead against hers. Karin sighs at the sight, a little sad, yes, but finally able to say that she's mostly happy for her sister. She's glad she found her one true love, her happy beginning.

She's still observing them when the door to the auditorium loudly clanks open and shut, followed by a series of giggles and murmurs.

"Kami-sama, who's _that_?"

"He's gorgeous!"

"Is he from Ikezawa High? I don't recognize him."

"Kinda late to the party, though, isn't he?"

"Who cares? With a face like that, I'd forgive him in a heartbeat!"

Karin ignores them and the apparent newcomer, more interested in Ryohei's successful attempts to get Ururu to smile (maybe they'd work out, after all). The whispers get louder and louder, though, and she's on the verge of turning around and snapping at everyone to _just shut up_ when a hand brushes her shoulder.

"May I have this dance?"

She whirls around to find the familiar, comforting, beloved face of her best boy (space) friend smirking at her.

"Toush!" she cries, stepping forward and throwing her arms around him. His own come up and hold her closer, and she takes a minute to breath in his scent—cedar and sweat and something that was simply Toush.

Her heart forgets it's broken and beats wildly with joy, and she thinks her face will crack from her smile. "What are you doing here?"

"Well," he says, still smirking, "I heard you needed a date."

She laughs. "Did not! I have the guys!"

He looks over to where Kazuya and Pinta are having a competition to see who can do the best electric slide. They pause in their efforts and wave like madmen at him. He waves back, then sticks his hands in his pockets and quirks a brow at her. "I see."

She laughs again, because she always loves laughing around him (it makes his eyes warm and his smirk deepen and Kami, she'd missed him so, so much). "Okay, okay, so they're a little unconventional. You still didn't have to drag your carcass here. I know you hate this kind of thing."

He shrugs. "Yuzu was threatening me with grievous bodily harm. I had to come. Of course, since you hate these things, too, I figured we could dance for one song, steal some punch, and sneak out while she makes eyes at Jinta." He holds out his hand. "So? May I have this dance?" he says again.

Karin takes a second to look at him, really look at him—he's wearing a suit, she realizes, a charcoal gray suit with a blindingly white shirt and a tie that's the exact same shade as his eyes. She didn't realize they made dyes that color.

And she's in a dress that somehow matches with his, and a love song is playing, sweet and slow, and everyone's staring at them and pointing—and she's not made for this, she isn't, she's not pretty and cute and made for sweeping onto dance floors and whirling the night away. She's not the girl who belongs with the prince, she's not the girl who gets the happy ending, or even a decent ending. She's not Yuzu, she's not Hiromi.

She's just awkward, plain, brash Kurosaki Karin.

She's the girl who gets left behind.

So she hesitates. She hesitates—and he sees it.

His expression softens, and he puts his hand under her chin, tilting her head so he's staring right at her. "Karin," he says.

And that's it—just one word, one look, and somehow, she manages to forget all the reasons she has to be afraid of not being enough.

So she puts her hand in his and lets him lead her out onto the dance floor, and she doesn't see Akane and Kaori staring at her with shock and envy, and she doesn't see Pinta and the others high-five in victory, and she doesn't see Yuzu grin gloatingly at Shusuke, and she doesn't see Shusuke raise his brows and say, "I _see_."

She just sees her best boy (space) friend smiling at her, soft and warm and steady, that rare, rare smile he reserves for when he's deeply, terribly happy.

The smile he reserves for whenever he's with her.

And her heart hurts at the sight of it, but it's a good hurt, the broken edges knitting together. It's different from Shusuke's smile—of course it's different, she's not in love with Toush, but she does love him all the same, and he loves her, and Kami, isn't that amazing on its own?

He loves her.

(_And you are beautiful because of it_, says a silent corner of her heart.)

* * *

The song ends, and another one starts up right after it, bright and fast and bubbly. She and Toushirou break apart without a word, walking in different directions as if they both received some secret signal.

For her part, Karin takes a minute to give Yuzu a hug and winks at the guys, saying her goodbyes as quickly as possible, and then she wanders over to the punch bowl, ready to escape, her stride confident and assured.

She's remembered now—she's not a damsel in distress, she's a knight in rusty armor, and there's a cranky, sarcastic squire who's waiting for her to pick their next adventure.

She smiles at the mental image and then abruptly comes to a halt. As expected, her squire is indeed standing by the punch bowl, two cups in hand, but surprisingly, standing with him is the prince of this little fairy tale.

Shusuke's face is torn between curious, apologetic, and discomfited. To anyone watching, Toushirou's expression would look utterly bored, but Karin knows him too well; it's obvious he's angry.

"Hey," she says, interrupting their not-conversation.

"Hey, Kurosaki," Shusuke says. "I was getting some punch for Hiromi-chan when I ran into your…"

"Best boy friend," Toush says, completely deadpan.

Shusuke's brows wing upward in surprise. Toushirou raises his chin slightly, a challenging look on his face.

"Toush," Karin says, rolling her eyes. "You're gonna give people the wrong idea. You know they can't hear the space properly."

Now Shusuke looks confused. "The space?"

"He's my best boy-space-friend," Karin explains matter-of-factly.

"Oh. That's nice," Shusuke says slowly, glancing from one to the other.

"It is," Toushirou says. "I'm lucky to have her."

What he doesn't say is: _Any boy would be lucky to have her._

All three of them hear it anyway.

Karin clears her throat, uncomfortable. This is worse than even Ichigo had been—her brother had threatened to kill Shusuke, but Toush looks like he'd actually do it without a second thought, and then dump the body in the river.

"You ready to go, Karin?" Toushirou says just as she's about to speak, turning towards her and completely ignoring Shusuke.

"Uh, yeah, of course," she says.

"You're leaving?" Shusuke asks, surprised.

Toushirou shoots him an icy glare.

"Yup. We're leaving. As in right now." _Before Toushirou decides to go bankai on your ass_, she thinks to herself.

She needn't worry, though. Suddenly Toushirou is smirking again, looking very smug and satisfied for some odd reason, and Shusuke's expression is highly amused as he glances at the two of them.

"I _see_," he says, his tone knowing.

Toushirou scowls. "Oh, look. Your girlfriend is waiting for you. Didn't she want some punch?" he says pointedly.

Shusuke laughs and holds up his hands. "Okay, okay, I'll leave you two alone." He steps forward and holds his hand out to Karin, intent on saying a proper farewell.

She takes it, and he pulls her forward and claps a hand on her back cheerfully, just like always, no pity or awkwardness in the gesture. "See you!" he says loudly, and then murmurs quickly, quietly in her ear, "I was wrong. It's not gonna be someday; it's already happened."

She furrows her brows as he steps back, but he's waving goodbye and walking away, grinning cheekily at Toushirou and winking at her.

"I still don't know what you saw in him," Toushirou says dryly.

She shrugs. "He's got a nice smile." She looks sideways at him, smirks. "And don't get me started on his ass—"

"Karin!" he splutters.

"—ets. His _mental_ assets. Though his physical ones aren't that bad, either."

He rolls his eyes. "You have terrible taste, Karin."

"Hey," she says, knocking him with her shoulder, "I have _fantastic _taste, and you know it." She smiles. "So, you ready to blow this joint, or what?"

He smiles back. "Thought you'd never ask."

* * *

"Don't say I told you so," she grumbles.

They're at their railing, of course. Where else would they be? The moon is high and full, the stars are shining, and the night is young, but she doesn't want to do anything other than stand here and talk with him.

"I wasn't going to say that," he says.

"Liar," she snorts.

"Am not."

"Are, too."

"Am not."

"Are—oh, fine, then what the hell were you going to say?"

"…"

"See?"

"…to be fair, I was going to follow it up with, 'I knew he wasn't good enough for you.'"

She laughs and laughs and laughs, so hard that she nearly falls over and has to clutch at his arm. He puts his hand under her elbow and steadies her (always—he _always_ steadies her).

"I sincerely hope you're laughing at the thought of that pathetic loser's face," he says.

"Not really, no. Laughing more at the fact that you're still so convinced _he's_ not good enough for _me_, and not the other way around."

"Fact one: You are not an idiot. Fact two: He's not standing here with you. Observation one: This makes him an idiot. Conclusion: You are obviously too good for him."

"Mmm," she says, slipping his arm over her shoulders and burrowing into his warmth. When she was younger, she saw his hair and his eyes and thought "Ice." She saw his sword and his strength and thought, "Cold." But then she got to know him, and he's so, so warm, and she's glad that she was wrong, and even gladder that she followed him that very first day and got the chance to find out.

"What will it take to make you believe me?" he whispers against her hair.

"I do believe you," she tells him, eyes shut, so she doesn't see the look of tenderness in his.

"Then why were you laughing?"

"Because you believe in me even when I don't believe in myself."

He says nothing in reply, just buries his face in her hair, and they rest in silence for a while.

Eventually, she sighs and straightens up, still standing shoulder to shoulder with him. "Thanks for showing up. Really. These past few weeks have been…bad. Like, soap opera bad, and I was in the unfortunate position of lead actress."

"You should have called me," he tells her.

"I should have," she agrees. "You'd have come over and smacked some sense into my head, and I wouldn't have been all morose and miserable and whiny." She shrugs. "But again, it was a bad couple weeks, and I misplaced my brain while trying to patch up my heart. Forgive me?"

"Only if you promise to call the next time someone hurts you like this."

She arches a brow at him. "That confident that there'll be a next time?"

"Yes," he smirks.

She hits him. "I hate you."

"You love me."

"No, I do not! My heart shall forever belong to Shusuke-kun! I shall never love another, and therefore there will never be a next time!" She puts her hand over her heart and flutters her eyelashes.

He grins. "Yeah, you make a terrible soap opera star."

"Thanks," she says, laughing.

"But I'm serious, you know. I want you to promise me you'll call me if something like this ever happens again—Rules Number Two _and_ Three. We suffer together, and no secrets."

"Alright," she says, relenting. "I promise to call you the next time my heart gets broken. Don't expect one any time soon, though. I don't think I'm cut out for this love business."

He shrugs. "Everybody needs a break now and then."

"Oh?"

"It's common sense not to rush into a relationship right after your heart's been bruised, Karin," he says, smirking.

"So what about you?" she asks him, wry and teasing. "Are you in the middle of a break? Or have you fallen in love lately?"

He shoots her an exasperated look and doesn't say anything.

"I take it that's a no," she says, chuckling.

He only grins.

(What he doesn't say is this:

_I fell in love with you when you were eleven. Does that count as recent? _

_I realized it when you were sixteen. Does that count as recent? _

_I figured out that it would never work, and that I shouldn't want it to, when you were seventeen. Does that count as recent? _

_I fell in love with you an hour ago when I first saw you tonight; I fell in love with you forty minutes ago when I danced with you; I fell in love with you ten minutes ago when you reached out and touched my arm; I fell in love with you five seconds ago when you smiled at me. Does that count as recent?_

But he'll never say it, so it doesn't matter, he tells himself. It doesn't matter at all.)

She grins back and turns her gaze away to look at the sky. "Someday," she says decisively. "Someday we'll both be in love, and it'll be with the right people, and we'll finally see what all the damn fuss is about. And neither of us will have to say 'I told you so,' because we'll already know."

"Yes," he replies. "We will."

And they stand there together, side by side, two hearts beating in time.

_(Someday, they'll both be in love, and it'll be with the right people, but she'll have her heart broken anyway—_

_**.**_

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—_and she won't call him, because the one who breaks it is him.)_

**…**

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**Endnote: And that is part four of the "Silence Arc." Sorry it took so long to post, people, but we'll hopefully start the weekly posts again, so expect the fifth part this coming Saturday. (It won't be as long as this one, but with any luck it will still be as good.)**

**Anyway, we're glad you've read our work and we hope you have enjoyed/are enjoying/will continue to enjoy it. :)**

**Thank you to everyone who's reviewed/alerted/favorited this story and/or us. :D**

**Special thanks goes to the following people for reviewing the last chapter:** **K, abyss-of-lights, Shahar Mystral, tigerwar, Silverpearl2, Riicia, Queen of Narnia49, Kali, mercyn, Black Rose, Rampant Poultry, FlyingLikeAButterfly, ****hitsukarin4lyf, Lady Light, Crystal, Signifytheworld, Rianan D' Halmsu, Eekhoorntjes, and a Guest! ;) You guys make our day! :D (If we have forgotten you or spelled your name wrong, please tell us and we will correct the error immediately.)**

**Thank you so much, and please review! Pretty, pretty please? :)**


	24. Silence v: implied

**Author Note: Welcome to the twenty-fourth installment**** of **_**Frozen Moments**_** and the fifth part of "Silence," a ten-part drabble series. We hope you enjoy.**

**Summary: She is all of twenty-one, and she can't believe she signed up for this.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. Tite Kubo-sensei does.**

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**Chapter Twenty-Four: Silence**

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**… XXX …**

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**v. implied**

She is all of twenty-one, and she can't believe she signed up for this.

"I'm serious, Toush," she says, her eyes bloodshot and shadowed and entirely too crazed—she can't imagine what she looks like to other people, but it can't be good. "Why the hell did I ever want to be a doctor?"

He doesn't say anything, doesn't even glance in her direction, but she knows he's not ignoring her because he's holding out a green notebook. It's her O-chem notebook, which she'd spent the last fifteen minutes tearing her room apart to find before finally flopping onto her bed, defeated.

She takes the notebook, looks at it, looks at him, looks back at the notebook. "Where did you find this?"

"Under your bed," he says, still reading his reports.

"When?" she demands, a little exasperated. (Okay, maybe more than a little, but she figures she's entitled to it.)

"Just a minute ago."

"But I _looked_ there."

"Mmhm," he says, turning a page.

"I _did_!"

"Of course."

She sends him one last glare before cracking open the notebook, reaching beside her for her pen, highlighter, and calculator, then digging in the pile of textbooks surrounding her for the one she needs. Within a few seconds, she is hard at work balancing chemical equations and forcibly restraining herself from going out and murdering her T.A., her professor, and everyone on the planet even remotely related to organic chemistry (yes, she's aware that that would be genocide—and this is her_ not_ caring).

At least it's not as bad as physics, she tells herself. (Though_ why _a doctor would ever need to know how to calculate the net force needed to accelerate a 540 kg car from 0 to 27 m/s in 10 seconds is beyond her. Really.)

An hour or two or twenty later—time has lost all meaning for her—a ball of crumpled paper hits her forehead.

"Hey!" She turns the full force of her evil glare on him, but years of exposure have rendered him completely immune, not that it ever worked very well on him. She throws her pen at him in retaliation. "What the hell was that for?"

"Just checking to see you haven't petrified from the strain," he says, dodging easily. He stands and stretches his arms above his head, his long, lean body the very picture of grace and beauty. He's dressed in a button-down shirt and slacks, and looks distinctly out of place in her cluttered, cramped apartment—Karin's not usually this messy, but finals are in _two weeks_. Life ought to cut her some slack.

She shouldn't even be having Toushirou over, but she hasn't seen him in ages, and unlike certain people she can name (Kazuya, Pinta, Donny, Ryohei, _Yuzu_), he can actually sit still and do his own work while she studies.

Well, usually. Now he's tossing her jacket at her, followed by a pair of jeans, her sneakers, and her favorite baseball cap.

"What the hell, Toush?!" she yells, batting away the deluge of clothing.

"Get up and get dressed," he tells her. "I'm staging an intervention." He tugs on her notebook, and raises a brow when she curls her body around it and hisses at him. "Okay, Karin, seriously, you look like you're two seconds away from muttering to yourself and declaring that notebook your 'precioussssss.' You need to take a break," he says. They'd watched The Lord of the Rings films once in her effort to get him educated on the finer things of the twenty-first century, and he likes quoting from them from time to time when the situation calls for it, and apparently this situation does.

"Do not," she says petulantly, but relents. She won't admit it, but he probably has a point.

He politely turns around as she gets dressed, then holds the door open while she stomps through it and down the stairs of her apartment complex.

"Not that way," he says, taking hold of her elbow and steering her in the opposite direction once they're on the street.

"Why not? You don't even know where I was going," she replies.

"You were heading to the convenience store to stock up on wrapped onigiri and ramen." He rolls his eyes. "That's not exactly what I had in mind when I said you needed a break."

This startles a laugh out of her. "Damn it, you really know me too well."

The corner of his mouth curves upward. "'Course I do. I'm your best friend."

"Best _boy_ friend," she corrects, smirking and looping her arm through his, tugging him closer to her and indulging in his warmth. "So, where are we headed?"

"You'll see."

They end up in an okonomiyaki restaurant favored by the college crowd—the food comes fast, hot, and cheap, so when they get there, Karin has to fight through a press of people to get them a table.

"I can't believe you elbowed that guy in the face," Toushirou says, "all for the crime of standing behind you."

"He was trying to steal our table," she replies, completely unrepentant.

"It wasn't our table yet," he points out.

"It's our table now, and my elbow helped with that." She leans said elbow on the small, rickety table and places her chin in her hand, her grin nearly splitting her face in half. Underneath the table, her foot taps against his, and she says, "Thanks, Toush. I really needed this—you were right."

"I'm always right," he says, grinning back. "Which you really ought to know by now if you paid any attention to things besides heart valves and medical journals."

She mock-scowls at him. "Hey! I'll have you know that the human heart is—"

"Kurosaki-chan! Hey, how are you?"

Karin turns around to see Ikawa-san from her Japanese history class waving excitedly at her. They've done a few group projects together and run in similar circles, and so far Karin has found her to be friendly and reliable, though they don't really have anything in common.

"Hi, Ikawa-san," Karin says, smiling at her.

"Hi, Kurosaki-chan!" She shoots a quick, admiring glance in Toushirou's direction before turning back to Karin. Karin barely manages not to smirk at the irritation in Toushirou's eyes, so at odds with his pleasantly civil expression. He's never taken the attention paid to his looks in stride, and if Ikawa-san hadn't been an acquaintance of hers, the girl would be sure to be on the receiving end of his frosty indifference.

"This is Toushirou," Karin says, partly to be polite and partly to annoy him. "Toushirou, this is Ikawa-san. She's in history class with me."

Ikawa-san laughs, the sound like tinkling bells. "I almost wish I weren't! We have so much work in that class. Did you finish the essay for Kimihiro-sensei yet? I swear, I'm going to die if I work on it any longer," she says.

"Uh, yeah, I have," Karin replies. "I'm studying for my organic chemistry finals right now—or well, I was. Toushirou here decided I needed a break." She jerks her chin at him.

Ikawa-san laughs. "Oh, that's good! Yuzu-chan was complaining that you hadn't been getting out of the apartment enough."

Karin wrinkles her nose. "Hey, not my fault I have to study."

"I know, I know!" Ikawa-san says. "I feel your pain!" She turns her head a second later. "Oh, that's my number! See you later, Kurosaki-chan! Say hi to your sister for me. And it was nice meeting your boyfriend!" She winks at Toushirou, who smirks in reply. Now it's his turn to gloat and Karin's turn to glower.

"I'm not her boyfriend," he says easily, almost automatically, before she can snap the words out at Ikawa-san. "We're just friends."

Ikawa-san's eyebrows climb up in surprise. "Oh! Sorry about that." She bows apologetically. "Ah, well, it was nice meeting you anyway! Good luck with your studying, Kurosaki-chan!" she says, beating a hasty retreat.

The minute she's out of sight, Toushirou chuckles, and Karin hunches her shoulders and stabs at the okonomiyaki.

"Geez," she mutters. "That's the sixth time that's happened. It's worse than it used to be with Ichi-nii and Rukia-nee."

"Really? I doubt that," Toushirou says, digging into his own portion.

She laughs. "Well, maybe not. It didn't stop until Rukia-nee finally got tired of waiting and asked Renji out. Then Ichi-nii got his act together and swept Orihime off her feet." She pauses, chopsticks halfway to her mouth, and tilts her head, looking at him speculatively. "Hey, you don't think that you—"

"No."

"You didn't even let me finish!"

"I'm a taichou. I don't have time to date."

"Well, I'm a pre-med junior in college! I don't have time to date, either!"

"Guess we'll just have to suffer through being mistaken for a couple, then," he says, shrugging, then continues in an obvious change of subject: "So, how do you think Nadeshiko Japan's chances are at the World Cup are this year?"

They banter and tease and eat for the better part of an hour, and after they get back to her place, Toushirou manages to cajole her into a _Fullmetal Alchemist_ marathon (Toush won't admit it, but he definitely has a guy-crush on Ed Elric, who happens to be arrogant, snarky, and a certified genius who's touchy about his height…yeah, Karin can see the similarities).

They sit side by side on the couch, with his arm stretched out along the back, following the line of her shoulders, and her hand tapping out a restless beat on his knee.

Contrary to popular belief, she knows what it looks like, even without people blurting it out on a regular basis. She knows what people think when they see the two of them together—an arm slung casually over her shoulders when they walk, a hand reaching out to smooth the furrows of his brow when he's annoyed, white hair tickling her legs when he sleeps, a face buried in the crook of his neck when she's tired—

—they see a young couple, hopelessly in love.

And always, always, always, when they find out the truth—_No, we're just friends_—there's a look of surprise and a hint of pity. For her, for him, for both of them—it doesn't matter. All Karin knows is that it drives her crazy.

Come to think of it, that very phrase—"just friends"—is annoying beyond belief. "Just friends"—as if Toushirou could be "just" anything. As if being friends with him is second best, not good enough, a consolation prize, when in reality it's better than any so-called "relationship" that people her age so carelessly indulge in.

She hates it: the assumption that because she's not_ in_ love with him, she couldn't possibly love him as much as she could. As if she's holding back on him, or him on her.

Toushirou knows her mind so well that he can finish her sentences without trying. He knows her hopes, her dreams, her favorite movies and books and music, almost everything about her. He knows why she hates it when it rains, why she yelled at Yuzu for three hours when her sister mentioned she wanted to name her first daughter after their mother, why she likes being alone (why she hates being lonely). He knows why she wants to be a cardiologist, why she lets Goat-chin carry on like a maniac, why she secretly likes romantic comedies (why she still believes in happy endings). He knows what makes her laugh, what makes her smile, what she would die for without a second thought (what she lives for).

He's memorized her body—each shrug, each smile, each tilt of her head, where she's ticklish, when she got the scar on her left leg, the fact that she hates wearing wool because it itches, the way she taps her foot when she's nervous, how she_ moves_.

He owns half of her heart and most of her soul, has tied it to his with a string made out of loyalty and kindness and patience and _love_, and if he tugs on it, she knows she'll come running.

She knows he'll do the same for her.

What part of that, of _any _of that, implies that she doesn't love him with her whole mind and body and heart and soul?

If that's not love, then she doesn't know what is.

So when Yuzu comes home later with a few friends, and they see Karin curled up next to Toushirou on the couch and leap to the obvious conclusion—

—she interrupts.

"No," Toushirou is saying. "We're—"

"—best friends," she says firmly, staring each of the girls down until they smile nervously and leave.

"What?" Toushirou murmurs afterwards. "No qualifier?"

Karin shrugs. "Yuzu doesn't seem to mind anymore." In fact, her sister had looked mischievously happy about it, for some reason.

"True. Though I think I got used to being your best-boy-friend," he says, smirking.

She rolls her eyes. Boys and their egos. "You can be someone else's best boyfriend, no hyphens necessary, if you want. There are plenty of girls offering."

"Thanks, but no thanks," he says. "I don't think I'll ever be anyone's boyfriend. Too much work. I'd rather stay your best friend." His smile is teasing, playful.

Her reply is not.

"Don't be stupid, Toush," she tells him, and feels his arm tense against her shoulders. "You'll _always_ be my best friend. Nothing's going to change that. No matter who or what you become," she finishes.

He exhales softly. "…same here."

She's still not looking at him, but she can feel him relax and hears what he's saying all the same, her promise repeated, silently implied. _You'll be my best friend. Always. No matter what. Nothing will change that._

"Good," she says decisively. "Now, do you want to skip to the episode where Izumi is introduced? 'Cause I really love that woman."

He laughs, the odd tension broken, and they're just Toushirou and Karin again, as easy as breathing.

_Yeah_, she thinks to herself. _Nothing's ever going to change this._

She leans her head against his shoulder, closes her eyes, and smiles.

_(They're both right and they're both wrong:_

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_He'll never be anyone's boyfriend. He'll always be her best friend. But, oh, how things __**change**__.)_

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* * *

**Endnote: And that is part five of the "Silence Arc." Thank you for reading.** **Part six should be up next Saturday, if all goes well. **

**Anyway, we're glad you've read our work and we hope you have enjoyed/are enjoying/will continue to enjoy it. :)**

**Thank you to everyone who's reviewed/alerted/favorited this story and/or us. :D**

**Special thanks goes to the following people for reviewing the last chapter:**** alwaysmile, Lady Light, hitsukarin4lyf, Shahar Mystral, FlyingLikeAButterfly, ichiLOVE, TheRavenFlute****, and a Guest! ;) You guys make our day! :D (If we have forgotten you or spelled your name wrong, please tell us and we will correct the error immediately.)**

**Thank you so much, and please review! Pretty, pretty please? :)**


	25. Silence vi: hush

**Author Note: Welcome to the twenty-fifth installment**** of **_**Frozen Moments**_** and the sixth part of "Silence," a ten-part drabble series. We hope you enjoy.**

**Summary: She is all of twenty-four, and she meets his gaze across the room when everything changes.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. Tite Kubo-sensei does.**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Silence**

* * *

**…**

**…**

**…**

**… XXX …**

**…**

**…**

**…**

**vi. hush**

She is all of twenty-four, and she meets his gaze across the room when everything changes.

She's playing peek-a-boo with her nephew when it happens.

Sora has to be the most adorable one-year-old on the planet (she thinks it's great that he inherited Orihime's tendency to smile over Ichigo's default frown), and the way he claps enthusiastically whenever she "reappears" just cracks her up. Toush is reading some of his reports on the couch, but he looks up at the sound of her laughter.

His eyes meet hers, the corners crinkling, his lips not quite smiling but nearly there, and suddenly her heart is beating like a jackhammer.

She doesn't know what's wrong with her, so she ignores it and goes back to playing peek-a-boo.

(His almost-smile stays with her for days after.)

* * *

She notices that he looks at her. A lot, actually.

He looks at her when she laughs. He looks at her when she smiles. He looks at her when she stands up and yells at the basketball games on t.v. He looks at her when he ought to be keeping his eyes on the ball when they play soccer. He looks at her whenever she goes off on random rants (and, okay, maybe that look is mostly amused disbelief, but he still looks at her).

He looks at her whenever he thinks she's not looking at him.

And sometimes—

Sometimes there's a look in his eyes that she recognizes but can't quite place, which is strange, because she knows all his looks, knows every emotion that passes through his steady gaze. But this one…it's different. And yet it's also not—she's pretty sure she's seen it before, but where?

Either way, it's popping up more and more often these days.

(She tells Yuzu about The Look, and her sister just gives her A Look of her own which basically translates to _Are you kidding me?_ "He looks at you the way he's always done, Karin!" she says, exasperated.

But he doesn't. It's different. She knows it, she just doesn't know how.)

* * *

In the months after, as she tries to figure out The Look, she realizes that she's been doing a lot of looking of her own.

It's like suddenly she can't take her eyes off of him. He lifts a brow, and she is mesmerized by the elegant curve of it. He swallows, and she stares at the smooth column of his throat. He gives her a sideways glance, and she's still looking at his eyelashes minutes later. He half-smiles and…his mouth. Wow. Yeah.

This is definitely getting to be a problem.

* * *

"I think you need to stop being ridiculously attractive."

He blinks. "…what?"

She is too busy staring at him, frozen in horror at the fact that she said those words_ out loud_ to answer him for a few seconds.

He snaps his fingers at her. "Earth to Karin—do you read me?"

She scowls. "Yeah, yeah, knock it off, Toush," she says, batting his hand away.

He grins at her. "So you were saying?"

Of course it was too much to hope that he'd let it slide. "It's just…unsafe for the female population of Karakura for you to look the way you do," she mutters, taking a bite out of her sandwich.

"Oh, I see." Oh, she recognizes _this _look. It's his incredibly-amused-would-be-rolling-on-the-floor-la ughing-if-he-didn't-have-the-self-control-of-a-mon k look. "And I am supposed to do this how?"

"Shave your head? Wear sack-cloth? Maybe scowl all the time—wait, no, you'd just come off as incredibly brooding and hot, don't do that."

He laughs, and Kami, her heart needs to stop this—this—this rock-n'-roller-on-drums impersonation it's attempting. She hasn't felt this way since—

Oh.

_Oh. _

"Karin? Karin, what's wrong?" He looks at her worriedly and places his hands over hers where they're curled into fists on the surface of the kitchen table.

She looks up at him and musters a smile, knowing it's too sharp the minute she does so. "Nothing's wrong," she says, pulling her hands away. "I just remembered there's something I have to do. See you."

She runs out the door and, for the first time in months, isn't tempted to look back.

* * *

She avoids being alone with him after that, which isn't that hard to do—there's always baby-sitting duties, or not-double-dates with Yuzu and Jinta, or just hanging out with the guys.

She knows he notices, but he doesn't say anything, simply follows her lead and that bugs her even more.

You see, she can't do this again. She can't. She can't fall in love with the unattainable guy, the fairy-tale prince, the man who tells her she's beautiful and makes her believe it. She just _can't_, especially not when he's _Toushirou_. Look how horribly it turned out with Shusuke, and he was just a good friend. Toushirou is practically her other half.

Losing him would rip her apart, and she's not about to take that chance.

It's not as if she hasn't seen other guys—she has, never on more than a couple of dates, but she's familiar with attraction and lust. She just never felt the excitement with any of them that she did with Shusuke, that fluttery feeling she's come to associate with love, so she never stayed. She's not a girl who'll settle for less.

The thing is, she doesn't feel it with Toush, either. Instead, it feels…like it always does. Like there's a magnetic pull towards him that she can't explain, but can't ignore—except magnified by a hundred.

It's driving her crazy, because this is the first time she's ever considered anything like this in regards to Toushirou. Oh, she knew he was gorgeous—she'd have been blind to miss it—but she'd never thought of him that way. He was familiar, he was beloved, he was always, always safe—the friend she could depend on for anything.

But now…

Now she sits on the floor in front of the couch, throwing popcorn at Pinta as Donny judges who had the best aim, and she glances out of the corner of her eye at where Toushirou's talking to Ururu.

And she wonders.

What would it be like to hold the hand that playfully ruffled her hair, that poked her in the side to get her to move off his leg when she was cutting off his circulation, that tenderly wiped away her nephew's tears, that helped her up whenever she fell?

What would it be like to rest in the arms that elbowed her before she put her foot in her mouth, that slung themselves casually around her shoulders when they walked, that fiercely wielded a sword to protect those he loved, that steadied her whenever she stumbled?

What would it be like to kiss the lips that quirked when she made corny jokes, that pouted if her cupboard was out of dango, that thinned into a hard line when he saw the strong preying on the weak, that said her name like it was his favorite word?

She wonders, and she comes to the conclusion that it wouldn't be terrible.

How could it be?

He holds her heart in his hands, and he clutches it tight against his own.

He thinks she's beautiful. He believes in her when she can't believe in herself. He loves her.

He's a good man, he's her better half, he's her best friend—always has been, always will be.

He's not going to hurt her.

The second she realizes this, he turns from his conversation and looks at her just as she nails Pinta in the face with a fistful of popcorn. His lips curve, his gaze warms, and, _oh_, she knows where she's seen The Look before.

Her father looked at her mother that way. Her brother looks at his wife that way. Jinta looks at her sister that way.

Toushirou looks at her that way.

(_"He looks at you the way he always has!" _she remembers Yuzu saying.

Has he really? Looked at her like she was the center of his world, like she was the first bloom of moonlight after sunset, like she was the breath in his lungs, the beat of his heart?

…she's been really, _really_ oblivious, hasn't she?)

She smiles back at him, and for the first time since this whole mess started, she knows exactly what to do.

* * *

"Stay a little longer, Toush," she says.

He grins at her. "You just want to use me as manual labor to clean up this mess." He gestures to the living room, where confetti and wrapping paper and plastic plates are scattered everywhere, the aftermath of the small birthday party for her and Yuzu.

She laughs, the sound of it a little too loud, and she bites her lip immediately afterward.

It's just the two of them. Alone together in her apartment. They've done this a million times before. Nothing to be worried about.

And still her heart beats so loudly she thinks he has to hear it.

Except he apparently doesn't, just shakes his head and starts cleaning up. "I told you, you should have let your dad have it at the clinic."

"And invite half of Soul Society? No way. Do you not remember our twentieth birthday party?" she says, relieved to be on more familiar ground.

"Come on, it wasn't so bad."

"You only say that because you took blackmail videos of me drunkenly singing 'My Heart Will Go On'—in complete violation of Rule Number One, I might add!"

"Well, _yeah_. You were singing 'My Heart Will Go On.' That trumps the friendship rules."

He grins, she grins back, and The Look comes over his face.

Her breath catches.

He looks away two seconds afterwards, like he always does, like he doesn't want her to see, and her heart gives a little painful squeeze. Kami, she's been so dumb. Why did it take so long to finally hear all the things he was keeping silent?

No. That's a lie. She's always heard them; she was just afraid to acknowledge it. Afraid to love someone who could leave her. Afraid to be the one left behind.

Well, she isn't going to be scared anymore.

She wipes her hands on her jeans and looks at him, lit by the soft glow of the lamp, and he's utterly beautiful and, she knows now, utterly hers. She takes a deep breath.

"I love you," she says.

He freezes before replying, and his tone too casual to be sincere. "I love you, too, but don't think that I'm going to let you foist off all the clean-up on me. Rule Number Two, remember? We suffer together."

"But we haven't been suffering together, have we?"

He gives her a quizzical look, but she thinks she can see the panic beneath it. "What are you talking about?"

"You've been suffering alone this whole time, haven't you? And I haven't had your back. I haven't been there for you when you needed me. I haven't let you feel like you could tell me everything. I've made you keep secrets from me so you don't hurt me."

He shakes his head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I think you do."

"Forget this. I don't have time for your cryptic messages." He turns away from her and walks to the door and starts to pull on his shoes.

He's definitely scared, too, and somehow this makes her feel better—it isn't just her. They're in this together. She follows after him, determined to do this right. "Toushirou, I—"

"Don't," he says roughly. "Don't. I don't need your pity." He stops tying his shoelaces and looks up at her, this look of absolute anguish on his face. "It's my own damn fault for falling in love with you. You don't have to do anything—I'll get over it, I promise."

Her heart breaks into pieces and falls into place all at once, because she's hurt him so much, but she can make things better now. She can fix this.

He gets up to leave, and she pushes him against the door. At first, he tenses like he'll shove her away, but then he only takes a deep breath and slowly expels it, looking her in the face. "I told you, you don't have to—"

"Shut up," she replies, and she kisses him to make sure of it.

It's clumsy at first, since he obviously hadn't been expecting it, and she isn't actually that good at kissing, and the angle was a little awkward—

But then he groans, low and needy like the sound is being torn from his throat, and he slants his mouth against hers and kisses her back _hard_. His teeth are nipping at her lips, and he sweeps his tongue into her mouth when she gasps in response, and he grips her hips and pulls her tight against him. He's kissing her fast and hot and desperately, like he's afraid this is the last time he'll ever get to do this.

So she kisses him back like there's no way she'll ever let him stop.

She slips her hands under his shirt and runs them up the smooth muscles of his back, pressing herself as closely to him as possible. She moans in approval when he reaches up to shove his own hands into her hair, gasps when he tilts her head back and sucks on the spot on her neck where her pulse is beating madly, whimpers when his palm cups her breast through the fabric of her shirt—

—"I've wanted to do this for so long," he whispers, and she tugs at his hair so she can kiss the words from his mouth, show him without having to say it that she wants this, too.

Eventually, she pulls away, and his eyes slam open, terror replacing the haze of lust, and his hands reach for her almost involuntarily before he forces them back down and steps away, his expression shuttering closed, hiding his hurt.

She takes his hand and places a kiss on his knuckles. "I love you," she whispers, her voice soft and hushed, looking at him solemnly. "I'm in love with you."

He closes his eyes, his expression looking like he's waited all his life to hear her say those words, and silently, he follows when she leads him to her bedroom, his hands curled tightly around hers, like he'll never let her go.

That night, she gives herself to him, and he gives himself to her, their bodies acknowledging what their hearts have known for years now—that they belong together, that this is the way they were meant to be.

(He clasps her hand the whole time, and she falls asleep sprawled next to him with her fingers still threaded through his, placed over the heart he wordlessly gave to her the minute she followed after him and demanded he help her, so very long ago.

He doesn't fall asleep, though. He stays awake and he watches her, because he _knows_.)

* * *

She wakes up the next morning, and her body feels sore and achy in decadent, intimate ways. She smiles as her eyes open, and she reaches across and—

—her hand hits ice-cold sheets.

She sits up, alarmed, but she knows even before she gets up and searches through her apartment that he's gone, knows before she calls his phone that he won't answer, knows before she tries to contact Soul Society that she'll never see him again.

It's in the hushed, empty sound of the silence he leaves behind.

* * *

She finds a note on her bedside table.

_I'm sorry_, he tells her.

He doesn't say anything else.

She pulls her knees up to her chest, presses her face against them, and cries, her gasping sobs the only sound she makes for hours, knowing only that he's broken her heart and he's broken his promise and they've both broken that last unspoken rule on the list, and she never would have done it if she knew it would feel like this.

_(What she doesn't know is that he knows there's only one way for this to end…_

_**.**_

_**.**_

_**.**_

_**.**_

_**.**_

…_he's always known. It's her death or his, and he knew his choice when he fell.)_

**…**

**…**

**…**

* * *

**Endnote: And that is part six of the "Silence Arc." Thank you for reading. Part seven should be—**

***ducks to avoid the fruit hurled at them* **

**Oh, come on, people, you knew the angst was coming! We **_**warned **_**you!**

**Ahem. Anyway, apologies for the slight delay in posting this chapter, and expect part seven next weekend, hopefully on Saturday, but maybe on Sunday.**

**Anyway, we're glad you've read our work and we hope you have enjoyed/are enjoying/will continue to enjoy it. :)**

**Thank you to everyone who's reviewed/alerted/favorited this story and/or us. :D**

**Special thanks goes to the following people for reviewing the last chapter:** **JoPoGirlsKickAss, Adobo-chan, The Clawed Butterfly, Shahar Mystral, abyss-of-lights, Black Rose, Harlett, PunkRockHolly, Eekhoorntjes, iLuvBleach, Alexandria Nightingale, TheRavenFlute! We made it to THREE HUNDRED REVIEWS LAST CHAPTER. THREE HUNDRED. YOU ARE ALL AMAZING. ;) Seriously, you guys make our day! :D (If we have forgotten you or spelled your name wrong, please tell us and we will correct the error immediately.)**

**Thank you so much, and please review! Pretty, pretty please? :)**


	26. Silence vii: echoes

**Author Note: Welcome to the twenty-sixth installment**** of **_**Frozen Moments**_** and the seventh part of "Silence," a ten-part drabble series. We hope you enjoy.**

**Summary: She is all of twenty-five, and she's never felt more alone.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. Tite Kubo-sensei does.**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Six: Silence**

* * *

**…**

**…**

**…**

**… XXX …**

**…**

**…**

**…**

**vii. echoes**

She is all of twenty-five, and she's never felt more alone.

Not when her mother died. Not when she realized her father couldn't protect her from everything. Not when Ichi-nii first became a shinigami. Not when Yuzu started dating Jinta. Not when she figured out that although she was her father's daughter, her brother's sister, her sister's other half, she wasn't exactly the first person in their hearts and thoughts the way they were in hers.

But that was okay. That was alright.

Because you see, she met this boy who had eyes just as lonely as hers, and their loneliness fit together so well that somehow along the way he became first in her heart and she became first in his.

He made her forget what being alone felt like.

She remembers now that he's gone.

* * *

In the days After, she crashes at Yuzu and Jinta's place, she eats dinner with Ichi-nii and his family, she even visits her father three or four times.

Anything to get out of her apartment, where the silence and emptiness is nearly deafening.

She goes to work. She's a resident at a local hospital, right on track to specializing in cardiology, just like she's always wanted, but all the books and articles she's read on the human heart haven't taught her how to fix it when it's been broken beyond repair.

She hangs out with her friends, and they try to cheer her up, studiously not mentioning _him_ after the first huge blow-up/breakdown right after he disappeared off the face of the planet. Ryohei lets her paint his and Ururu's apartment a bold red color, Donny sings her silly songs, Pinta watches Korean drama with her so he can cry over the plot and she can make fun of the protagonists, and Kazuya takes her out to her favorite Chinese restaurants and cuts the waitress off when she starts to ask where her boyfriend is.

It's easy and familiar, but she can't help wincing whenever she remembers that it isn't quite as easy and familiar as when she's hanging out with—

Or when she nearly suggests that maybe next time, they ought to invite Tou—

Or how everything, everywhere, every minute of every day reminds her that she really, really needs to call him and—

Kami, why is it so hard to forget him?

Stupid question. Stupid, stupid, stupid question.

He's her best friend, always has been, always will be, and just because she's no longer his doesn't mean she can stop her heart from feeling that he's hers.

Even though the thought of him has it spasming in acute pain as it registers his loss all over again.

Damn it, this is _exactly_ why she didn't want to fall in love again.

* * *

She thought it would be different, she thought he loved her back, she thought he would be here, he was supposed to be here, he was supposed to be with her, he wasn't ever supposed to leave her behind how could he leave her behind didn't he know what that would do to her why didn't he love her back why was she never good enough why _why __**why **__**why **_**why**—

(She screamed until she lost her voice, but he never answered.)

* * *

Rukia comes by two days After. She explains that Soul Society has decided to…diminish their presence in the Living World. Just for a year or so. Just to sort things out. Everything's going to be fine, she promises.

Ichi-nii yells at her, saying that Toushirou ought to come here and tell her that himself, the fucking coward, and since when has non-interference ever been Soul Society's fucking policy, and no, this is not okay, the little shit broke his sister's heart, how dare he—

Rukia cuts him off to tell him that this is goodbye for her, too. Just for a year. That's all they're asking for. Just a year.

"The dead and the living aren't supposed to mix," she tells Orihime later. "They're not even supposed to be friends, it's like when I was first taken back all over again, but it's worse because he's a taichou and they're not just friends—"

Orihime nods. "Okay," she says. "Okay. You keep him safe and we'll keep her safe and after a year—"

"We'll see where we stand."

Rukia tries to tell Karin this, too, but all she hears is that not only has she lost her best friend, she's lost any ties to the world he lives in. She's lost Rukia and Renji and Matsumoto and Momo and Kira and Madarame and Ayesegawa and everyone. And Ichi-nii and his friends have lost them, too, and it's all her fault, all because she couldn't keep her mouth shut.

So when Rukia hugs her goodbye, she doesn't say anything. Just closes her eyes and hears the echoes of his voice saying, "I'm sorry."

* * *

What Rukia doesn't tell Orihime or Ichigo or even Karin is that the penalty for a shinigami loving a human is death. Not death by Soukyoku, but death by his own hands, with his own sword.

That, or death to the human.

Ukitake-taichou says it's unlikely that the death sentence will be carried out, not least because so much has already changed, and especially since Hitsugaya is simply too talented a taichou to lose.

But there will be consequences. He's just determined to be the one who pays them. Not Karin. Never Karin.

Hitsugaya makes Rukia promise not to tell her. He's made his choices, and he doesn't regret any of them.

There's a look in his eyes when he says this that makes him seem far older than he is, as if the weight of the world is on his shoulders, but he'd rather carry it than hand it off to someone he loves. Rukia thinks she's seen that look before, but she isn't sure where.

She gets her answer when she leaves Kurosaki Clinic; she turns back for one last look at Karin and Ichigo and Orihime, and instead meets Isshin's sorrowful, knowing gaze—

Oh. That's where she's seen it before.

A chill runs up her spine, and she says a quick prayer to any gods who might hear her that Karin and Hitsugaya's story ends more happily than Masaki and Isshin's.

* * *

"Do you want me to go and beat him up for you?" Ichigo asks her.

She shakes her head. "No. It's not his fault that I…misinterpreted things."

"Bullshit," he says.

"It's not your job to protect me, Ichi-nii," she says wearily.

"Like I said, bullshit. You're my little sister. It's always going to be my job. And this whole 'no-contact-for-a-year' is crazy. And what the hell is with this non-fraternizing rule, huh? It's fourteen fucking years too late for that. Ishida even married Nemu—why the hell would you and Toushirou be any different? I think something's up. We should—"

"No," Karin says again. "No. If it came down to it, I don't think he'd choose me over his duty as a taichou—Nemu-san gave up her position. I don't want to put Toush through that. I don't want to hurt him any more than I already have. Besides, you have Sora now. Chad's in Mexico, Ishida and Nemu have a kid coming, and staging a whole rescue operation for a guy who doesn't even need it would be pretty stupid."

Her brother huffs out a frustrated breath. "Alright. If you say so."

"Thanks," she replies.

And that's all she'll say on the subject for weeks afterward.

* * *

One month After, Karin decides to pack up everything that reminds her of him and either give it away or burn it in a satisfying bonfire, like normal girls do after breakups.

(Though "breakup" seems such an inadequate word to use, especially since Toushirou wasn't her boyfriend—he was her heart and soul and strength, and it's less like a breakup and more like a breakdown, all the pieces of her left shattered on the floor.)

Unfortunately, she realizes that she'd have to burn down all her belongings if she really wants to succeed at this. Hell, she'd probably have to burn down the whole town.

Damn it, damn it, damn it.

Instead, she settles for gathering up that comfy jacket she stole from him and never gave back, all the photos of them together, and the dragon pendant he got for her on her birthday. She puts all of it in a box and walks to the dumpster—

—and keeps on walking.

Damn it, damn it, damn it.

She eventually stops by their railing and watches the sunset, the pieces of himself he left with her resting at her feet, and she tells herself that she's gonna be alright. It's okay if she never gets over this. She doesn't have to.

She's Kurosaki Karin, and she's the toughest, bravest, strongest girl in all of Karakura.

She may not get over him, but she'll get through this. She always does.

* * *

Two months After, she is huddled over her toilet bowl seat for the fifth time in that week, and for the first time in what feels forever, she feels something besides anger and sadness.

She just wishes it wasn't bone-numbing, mindless terror.

* * *

She goes out and buys five pregnancy tests.

They're all positive.

_Shit_.

_(She is all of twenty-five and she's never felt more alone…_

_**.**_

_**.**_

_**.**_

_**.**_

_**.**_

…_except it turns out that she's not. How is she supposed to forget him __**now**__?)_

**…**

**…**

**…**

* * *

**Endnote: **

**CrazyAce: And that is part seven of the "Silence Arc." Thank you for reading. Part eight should be—**

***ducks to avoid the sharpened spears thrown in their direction* **

**What the heck—?! Spears?! Come on, people, you have to let me live so you can find out what happens next!**

**Ahem. And to answer a few questions, no, I don't know why I would do this to you. I'm not even sure why I would do this to myself.**

**PokerFace: You liar. You're a total sadist, admit it. **

**CrazyAce: Am not!**

**PokerFace: You laughed evilly when the tearful reviews came in!**

**CrazyAce: … **

**PokerFace: …**

**CrazyAce: Well…Anyway, we're glad you've read our work and we hope you have enjoyed/are enjoying/will continue to enjoy it. :)**

**Thank you to everyone who's reviewed/alerted/favorited this story and/or us. :D**

**Special thanks goes to the following people for reviewing the last chapter: metsfan101, Eekhoorntjes, S I, abyss-of-lights, Hakkuchi, Alexandria Nightingale, ichiLOVE, iLuvBleach, PunkRockHolly, Adobo-chan, Rose Zaki, xNightDreamerx, TheRavenFlute, Shahar Mystral, JoPoGirlsKickAss, and a Guest! ;) Seriously, you guys make our day! :D (If we have forgotten you or spelled your name wrong, please tell us and we will correct the error immediately.)**

**Thank you so much, and please review! Pretty, pretty please? Come on, you know you want to yell at me. :)**


	27. Silence viii: stillness

**Author Note: Welcome to the twenty-seventh installment**** of **_**Frozen Moments**_** and the eighth part of "Silence," a ten-part drabble series. We hope you enjoy.**

**Summary: She is all of twenty-five, and she's going to be a mom.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. Tite Kubo-sensei does.**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: Silence**

* * *

**…**

**…**

**…**

**… XXX …**

**…**

**…**

**…**

**viii. stillness**

She is all of twenty-five, and she's going to be a mom.

She doesn't tell anyone, trying to keep it to herself and just…not think about it.

Yeah, not much of a plan, but she'll figure one out later.

(Toushirou was the one who came up with plans and lists, and everything would've been so much less scary if he was right here beside her.

He isn't, and bravery is a thin blanket against the chill of loneliness, but it's all she has, so she clings to it with both hands.)

* * *

For another month or so, she's able to pretend that nothing's wrong, everything's okay, she's completely fine.

It doesn't last of course.

* * *

"Hey, Hime-nee," Karin calls as she lets herself into her brother's house. "I'm here for my favorite nephew!"

Her beautiful sister-in-law appears in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen, a sudsy, half-washed plate in her hands and a smile on her face. "Karin-chan! Sora's taking a nap right now, but he'll be so happy to see you when he wakes up! Here, why don't you sit—"

The plate crashes to the floor as Orihime's eyes widen, and Karin presses a hand to her stomach, where her baby (_a boy, a girl, will it have his eyes, his hair, his smile?_) just let out a small but noticeable burst of reiatsu.

"Karin-chan…?" Orihime whispers.

"Don't tell him, don't tell him, it's not Toushirou's, I swear it's not, oh, Kami, you can't tell Ichi-nii—"

"Karin-chan, calm down," Orihime says, leading her over to a chair and sitting her down. "Calm down." She sits with her, hands holding tightly onto hers.

"You can't tell him!" Karin says again.

Orihime bites her lip. "He's going to notice sometime, Karin-chan. And what about Yuzu-chan and Otou-san? And Toushirou-kun…?"

"It's not Toushirou's. It's not his, it's mine, it's my baby!" Karin yells.

"Shh, alright, alright. Of course it's yours. Of course," Orihime says, gathering her into a hug as she finally breaks down and starts sobbing.

"What am I going to do, Hime-nee?" she says. "What am I going to do? I'm s-so scared, and I can't do this alone, I can't—"

"You're not going to do this alone," Orihime says firmly. "You'll have us. You'll have your family. You can move in with us—don't argue, I don't want you alone in your apartment, you can get it back after the baby's born—but first things first. We're going to have a family meeting. We're going to tell everybody our news—"

"Our news?" Karin said.

"Ah, right." Orihime sheepishly rubbed the back of her head and placed Karin hand on her won stomach. "I haven't told anybody yet, but I found out yesterday that we're going to have another baby."

"Hime-nee, that's wonderful!" Karin said, still sniffling. Damn hormones.

"Mmhm! So we can be pregnancy buddies! You can come to my yoga classes with me, and I can make you craving foods, and, and—"

"You're not mad at me?" Karin asks.

Orihime blinks. "Why would I be mad at you?"

"For being so stupid. For getting knocked up while the father's—" Karin cuts herself off and looks away.

"Are you angry that you're going to have this baby?" Orihime says.

"I'm angry at him for leaving," she whispers, "but no, I'm not angry I'm having his baby. Kinda crazy isn't it?"

"So, it's really his…?" Orihime asks quietly.

Karin closes her eyes and says nothing and everything all at once, the truth written plainly in the sudden stillness of her body.

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Yuzu is shocked, Jinta is horrified, Ichigo is furious, and her father is eerily resigned.

"What do you mean you're pregnant? I'm going to kill that bastard—"

"Don't," Karin says. "Just don't, Ichi-nii. It's not going to change anything. And I told you, it isn't his fault—"

"The hell it isn't! If you think I'm not going to make him take responsibility!"

"It's not even his baby!"

"Then who the hell is it?!" Ichigo roars.

"It's mine!" Karin yells back, standing up and pushing him on the chest. "It's mine and it doesn't matter who the father is because I'm going to love him and take care of him and teach him soccer and make him cookies and—and—!"

She breaks down crying again. Damn hormones.

It has the bonus effect of freaking Ichigo out, though, and he instantly starts offering to do whatever she wants, please, anything, if she would please stop crying—

"You moron," she blubbers. "How did you even survive Orihime's pregnancy if you act like this every time a woman cries?"

"Karin," Yuzu says, "that's kinda how he _did _survive."

They all laugh at that, and the anger suddenly leaves the room, an odd sense of…not happiness, but anticipation, perhaps, taking its place.

Yuzu wipes away her tears. "Okay," she says. "We'll go with your plan. You'll love him and take care of him and teach him soccer, but please, let me do the baking, alright? We don't want you poisoning my future nephew."

Ichigo blinks at the words. "Fuck, I'm going to be an uncle." He starts grinning. "I'm going to be an uncle!"

"And a daddy," Orihime suddenly says.

"But I'm already a—another one?" Ichigo says, dumb-founded.

Orihime nods.

He lets out a whoop and starts swinging her around, and Karin bites down_ hard_ on her lip to keep from crying.

(Sometimes she dreams and when she wakes up, the After never happened—she wakes up with him right beside her and he stays and he loves her and they get married and she gets pregnant and when she tells him he—

It doesn't matter.

The After happened.)

Yuzu notices and squeezes her hand. "Congratulations," she says. "I'm happy for you." She leans down and starts talking to Karin's belly. "Hi, there, little Kurosaki-chan. This is your Aunt Yuzu, and I'm the best aunt ever—Sora-onii-chan will tell you—so I can't wait to meet you."

Karin can't help it. She starts laughing until she sobs, her father coming over to wrap her in a hug, Ichi-nii and Yuzu and Jinta and Hime-nee and even little Sora (who woke up thanks to all the yelling and shouting) coming over to comfort her.

Looks like she was wrong. Sometimes she still comes first.

* * *

Months go by.

Her belly grows rounder, her feet get swollen, and she and Orihime switch taste buds—like, all of the latter's disgusting wasabi and dango combinations start looking appetizing to Karin, while Orihime suddenly develops a craving for plain vanilla ice cream. Plain vanilla ice cream.

"That's seriously creepy, Hime-nee," Karin says from her semi-permanent position on their couch. (She'd moved in with them eventually—it was easier than arguing with Orihime, and Yuzu, and Ichi-nii, and they even got Sora to do the damn puppy eyes. Of course she said yes.)

Orihime just sticks her tongue out at her, and little Sora toddles over to place a kiss on her belly.

Karin ruffles his hair. "If your sibling and this baby are both girls, you're going to be an _exact _clone of your daddy, aren't you?

He smiles at her and gurgles. She smiles back and feels her baby kick, as if he or she agrees.

Life is surprisingly good.

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"I hope you look like him," she murmurs, smoothing a hand over her belly. It's past midnight, and the house is quiet and peaceful. She feels like she can share all her secrets with the world at this hour—she feels like the stillness softens her words and folds them up and keeps them safe, all her deepest, sharpest desires too painful to take out in the daylight. "I know it's a weird thing to want, but I really hope you look like him. It'll make it seem like I was able to keep some of him, the best of him. So I hope you have his smile, and his nose, and his gravity-defying hair."

The baby kicks against her palm, a steady, restless beat. She smiles a little. "I hope you kick like him, too. He had the coolest moves, you know. I fell in love with him because of that. Well, that and his eyes."

Her baby keeps kicking.

"Is it alright if you don't have his eyes?" she whispers. "I love them—they're greenish-blue, and long-lashed, and beautiful—you'd be beautiful if you had his eyes—but—"

She stops for a bit to take a breath, then continues.

"But I don't think I could stand it if you had his eyes. Everything else would be good. Just not that."

She looks out the window, where autumn is starting to turn into winter, leaves making way for the first touch of frost.

Her baby stops kicking, going utterly, completely still, and Karin wraps her arms around her belly and weeps.

_(And soon, she'll think her blue-eyed daughter is beautiful—she'll tell her so each and every day…_

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…_but still, sometimes she can't bear to look at her, can't bear to look away.)_

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**Endnote: **

**CrazyAce: And that is part eight of the "Silence Arc." Thank you for reading. Part nine should be up next Satur—**

***dodges thrown spear***

**Whoa, that was a close one, eh, Poker—**

***gets stabbed***

**Wha—? Oh, **_**et tu**_**, PokerFace?**

**PokerFace: … **

**CrazyAce: *sighs* You still haven't forgiven me for the last two chapters, have you…? **

**PokerFace: *digs knife deeper***

**CrazyAce: Well, that was just unnecessary. **

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	28. Silence ix: emptiness

**Author Note: Welcome to the twenty-eighth installment**** of **_**Frozen Moments**_** and the eighth part of "Silence," a ten-part drabble series. We hope you enjoy.**

**Summary: She is all of twenty-five, and she really isn't ready for this.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. Tite Kubo-sensei does.**

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**Chapter Twenty-Eight: Silence**

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**ix. emptiness**

She is all of twenty-five, and she really isn't ready for this.

"Oh, shit," she says when her water breaks in the middle of the grocery store.

"'Oh, shit,' what do you mean 'oh, shit'? Did they run out of the dango that Hime wa—oh, shit! Oh, shit! Did your water just break? Shit, shit, shit!" Ichigo yells, his hands coming off the shopping cart to anxiously run through his hair. "Shit! This is why I told you to stay at home!"

She glares at him. "Hey, I am _pregnant_, not helpless. If I want to walk around and shop, I'll walk around and shop."

"Ha! More like waddle around—you're the size of a house!" Ichigo's eyes are darting around wildly, moving from her to the sliding doors to the cart to her again in an anxious circle.

"Oh, yeah? What happened to 'What the hell are you worried about, Karin, you look beautiful'?" she groused in between taking deep, calming breaths. A contraction hadn't hit her yet, but—oooh, there it was. She sucked in another lungful of air.

Ichigo rolled his eyes at her. "You _do_ look beautiful, but you're still the size of a house—let's just say it's a mansion, okay, a nice-looking one, and _why the hell didn't you listen to me when I said to stay home_?!"

"Will you please call the hospital and stop yelling at me?!" she yells back.

"I'm doing that already!" he says, turning his head so she can see the phone pressed to his ear. Ah, she must have missed that during her contraction.

"Umm…uh…" One of the store clerks is staring at them anxiously, and she notices that they've managed to draw in a small crowd of concerned people. "Would you like some…help?"

"_No_," she and Ichigo say at the same time. He glares at the people while she smiles tightly and continues, "Don't worry, my brother and I have everything under control."

Still, a nice lady somewhere in her sixties elbows everyone aside and leads her to a chair, calmly holding her hand and distracting her with pleasant chatter and kind questions, while she feeds Karin ice chips that she had the young clerk go fetch.

Ichigo, meanwhile, has managed to get Uryuu on the phone, and instructed him to get the place ready, since they'd be there in a couple of minutes.

"I don't know why he's still friends with you," Karin grumbles. "Not when you keep insulting his intelligence and his skills one second, then muttering how you're going to murder him in his sleep the next if everything doesn't go smoothly. The baby's coming early enough already—our plans are out the window."

"They are _not_," Ichigo shoots back as he paces in front of her and Ienaga-san—the nice elderly lady—phone still pressed to his ear as he waits for Orihime to pick up. "Yuzu and I planned for every fucking eventuality, and this isn't even the worst one. We're just gonna go with Plan Spilled Ramen."

"Plan Spilled Ramen?" Karin repeated incredulously.

Ichigo scowled. "Hey, Yuzu came up with the names, okay? Anyway, it's the plan where you're in a public space when the contractions happen, and we calmly take you to the hospital, and everyone else will meet us up there. Yuzu will go get Orihime, who'll grab your bag, and Sora will get dropped off at Uryuu's so Nemu can watch over him, and somebody will call Tou-san once we're all there so he can freak out at the clinic and not in the waiting room."

"I'm still not sure about the Nemu bit—she's six months pregnant and your kid takes after you. What if he socks her in the belly or something?" Karin says, glaring at him.

"Hey! He will not!"

"I'm sure everything will be fine," Ienaga-san says soothingly, patting her hand.

"Jeez, what's taking Hime so long to answer?" Ichigo says immediately after that, looking at his watch in a frustrated manner. "It's been—hey, honey! Yeah, just wanted to say that Karin's water broke. Kid's coming about a week early, but don't worry, I already called Uryuu and he said it should be fine. Got a hospital room ready, and Karin's timing her contractions, and a nice lady's with us and she says it's gonna take a bit, so everything's fine. You get Sora ready, okay, and I'll have Yuzu pick you up—Code Burnt Cookies? What do you mean Code Burnt Cookies, Code Burnt Cookies means—oh, shit, your water broke and I'm not there with you?! Oh, shit, holy fuck, okay, stay calm, stay calm and do not panic! Everything will be okay! We are going home right now to take you to the hospital—what do you mean Karin needs to go there first, I just said it'll take a fucking long time—what do you mean calm down! I am calm!"

Ichigo suddenly pulls the phone away from his ear and winces, Orihime's voice coming out of the speakers in high, tinny volume. "Okay, okay, okay—I'll call Yuzu! Just—don't—stay calm! I'll see you soon! I love you!"

Karin watches, mildly incredulous, as Ichigo proceeds to call their sister, screaming into the phone, "It's Code Apocalypse, Code Apocalypse, I repeat, Code Apocalypse! Commence Plan Save the World Again!"

"Your;brother's very enthusiastic, isn't he?" Ienaga-san says, smiling in amusement.

"You could call it that," Karin says dryly. "Hopefully my kid doesn't hate me for naming him her godfather."

Ienaga-san laughs, and Karin laughs with her, trying to ignore the sense that a certain someone should be sitting on her other side and holding her hand, smirking at her joke.

(He's not here and he never will be. She doesn't need him to be here. She _doesn't_.)

* * *

It takes most of a day to give birth to Haru (she's a winter baby, her dark-haired, stubborn girl, but it's winter on the verge of spring, ice ready to melt, and Karin thought it appropriate enough to name her daughter after the season of life and sunshine, because that's what she is to her—new beginnings born of old mistakes).

She doesn't really remember too much of it, just a lot of pain, and screaming at Ichigo, and trying to breathe, and Yuzu feeding her ice chips, and worrying about Orihime, and demanding more drugs.

She remembers her father holding her hand.

She remembers pushing, pushing, pushing.

She remembers crying when it felt like too much. She remembers asking for Toushirou. She remembers telling Ichigo to get him, please get him, she didn't care what anyone said, she _needed_ him here, he said he'd be there for her no matter what, why wasn't he here, she wanted him here, please, please, just please get him for her.

(She really, really, really wishes she didn't remember that.)

What she remembers best is this:

The first loud, indignant cry of her baby ringing through the room, ear-piercing and stubborn and so like Karin herself that she nearly laughs.

Sitting up and reaching out with shaking, exhausted arms as a happily sobbing Yuzu and quietly proud Goat-chin flank her on either side.

And then finally, finally looking down at an absolutely beautiful, perfect little girl, all pale skin and scrunched up nose and stubborn chin, black as midnight hair plastered to her forehead.

And then her baby's eyes open, and Karin's heart shatters and knits itself back together all at once.

"You had to have your father's eyes, didn't you?" she murmurs, gazing down at lovely clear blue eyes, the color of the sea in summer, the color of the sky in deep winter, the color Karin loves and hates and misses in equal measure.

The color of Toushirou's eyes.

She smiles down at her baby girl, tears blurring her vision. "Well, then, Kurosaki Haru, welcome to the world. If you make a habit of ignoring the things I tell you to do, let's hope you always do it with this much style."

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Haru is a surprisingly easy baby to look after—quiet, hardly fussing, mostly serious, and sometimes Karin wonders if she imagined that first loud shout in the hospital room—she'd been under a lot of drugs, after all.

She's just so _calm_ most of the time, peering out at the world around her with a self-assured look, taking in all of life's mild crises with a resigned and steady air.

(She inherited more than her eyes from her father, and every day that passes makes that abundantly more clear, and Karin can't tell if she wants this to continue or not.)

Orihime and Ichigo's new baby is a lot more prone to crying, but also more prone to laughing and smiling and making noise in general, so Karin thinks it a fair trade.

Little Natsu (named to match her cousin, Karin suspects) had been born the day before Haru, on January 30. Haru, of course, had taken her time after deciding to be born a week early, and was born on January 31, the last day of the first month of the year, a contradiction in and of herself, fresh starts and old endings all in one.

The two babies are very, very fond of each other, and Goat-chin remarks that they remind him of her and Yuzu, once upon a time, one dark-haired baby girl clinging stubbornly to a light-haired one as they share the same crib.

It's hard, being a mom, and she and Ichigo and Orihime all walk around the house they share looking like raccoons, dark bags under their eyes from lack of sleep.

Still, Karin wouldn't trade it for the world—sometimes she holds her daughter and thinks she couldn't be any happier than this, couldn't want anything more, a calm sort of peace enveloping her.

She always looks up a second later, though, turning towards the entrance of whatever room she's in with a smile already on her face for the man she expects to see leaning on the doorjamb, an answering smirk on his face and laughter in his blue eyes—

—and everything she's missing hits her full force.

_(HaruHaruHaru, beats her heart._

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_HaruHaru__**Toushirou**__Haru._)

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**Endnote: **

**And that is part nine of the "Silence Arc." Thank you for reading. **

**We are intensely sorry for the long wait, but please rest assured—we are not abandoning this story (or any of our other Bleach stories) in the slightest. The last and final part of "Silence" will be posted in one week's time—brace yourselves. It's going to be a happy ending, I swear, but I'll make you work for it.**

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